Elphie in the Middle
by LittleMissDelirious
Summary: In the midst of a messy divorce, Glinda and Fiyero both meet Elphaba. With time and effort, she shows them that it's okay to be the colours they are. The problem arises when they both fall for her. Oh yes, it's a GELPHIYERABA.
1. Into the Rush

**This story is so much fun to write. Even though I have three science labs to do...it's okay. My science teacher is a 76 year old lunatic who hates her life (and me.) Should be good.**

**I made the chapter short because I needed an introduction. For now let's pretend that Glinda, Fiyero and Elphie DIDN'T go to Shiz together, alright?**

**But all of you try writing a Gelphiyeraba right now!**

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><p>Fiyero strode away from the receptionist's desk and seated himself uncomfortably beside Glinda.<p>

She turned away from her magazine. "So?"

"They agreed to take us," Fiyero said curtly. "They're moving the current session to the spot after us."

"Good," Glinda said softly, before returning to her magazine. She was eager to get out of this place. Everyone was giving her the look. Oh yes, she knew the look well. She had been getting it since the divorce a month earlier. Now she found herself in a therapist's office because her friends thought she was going crazy. So supportive.

Fiyero leaned his head back against the wall and breathed deeply. How was it that not six weeks ago he had counted Glinda as his closest friend?

"Excuse me," a voice called from in front of them. Glinda lowered her magazine and Fiyero opened his eyes. Both of them nearly became heart attack victims. If the woman was irritated by their reactions, she didn't show it. "The doctor is ready for you now; he says he'd like to see you separately today."

Before Fiyero could claim the opportunity, Glinda hopped up and rushed into the office, slamming the door with a twitch of her heel. The woman who had informed them of the change of plans took her seat.

Fiyero couldn't help but stare as she reached into her bag and pulled out a thick volume to read.

She felt his stare and turned to him for a second, before returning to her book and tapping her foot against the chair she was sitting in. Every time the boot hit it made a ringing sound.

"And you are?" Fiyero asked.

"Extremely agitated," she answered, without looking up.

"That's not what I meant."

The woman's lips curled into a slight smirk and she looked up at Fiyero, the full force of her intelligent eyes on him. "I'm the patient whose therapy session you decided wasn't nearly as important as your own. Now I'll be waiting for another hour."

"I'm sorry about that." He couldn't take his eyes off the green hand that was lying on the arm of the chair inches away from his elbow. No wonder she was in therapy. "But that's not exactly what I meant either."

"Well, if you prefer specifics," she sighed, "I'm Elphaba Thropp, relatively new to therapy, graduate of Shiz, daughter of Melena Thropp, sister of Nessarose and Shell-"

Fiyero interrupted her speech with a laugh. "Those are quite the specifics."

"And if I'm not mistaken, you're the man OzBeat Magazine is currently following obsessively," Elphaba finished.

One glance at the magazine Glinda had left on the coffee table in front of him, told Fiyero that she was right.

Elphaba followed his gaze and muttered, "Celebrity marriages."

"Well, Miss High and Mighty, what are you here for?"

"A clock told me the Wizard was my father."

Fiyero couldn't help but smile at her joking tone. "Couldn't your mother sue for child support?"

"My mother died when I was six," Elphaba said simply, flipping a page in her book.

"I'm sorry," Fiyero rushed, feeling instant guilt. "I didn't-"

"Oh please. I really don't care for your false sentiment."

"Alright then." He was slightly discouraged but still, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. "But if you don't care, why are you here?"

"My sister threatened to drop a house on me if I didn't start seeing a shrink."

"She sounds lovely," Fiyero teased.

"Oh, she is," Elphaba replied happily.

Fiyero wanted to keep the conversation going. "So have you noticed an improvement?"

Elphaba laughed, it was cold and high. "It seems that the more money I shell out, the less I improve."

"If it counts for anything, you seem just fine to me," Fiyero said sincerely.

"And so do you." Again she fixed her eyes on his. "It's finding what's broken inside that's the trick." Her eyes sparkled.

"Have you ever considered going into the psychiatric business?"

"Once upon a time."

"Didn't interest you?" He asked curiously.

Elphaba shook her head. "No more than a plate of spinach and mouldy socks."

"Those aren't very interesting things," Fiyero joked.

"I bet I can guess a few things about you," Elphaba said matter-of-factly, closing her book, but keeping her finger on the page. "I bet you have a picture of your kids in your wallet."

"Guilty as charged," Fiyero admitted.

"I bet you spend a lot of time working."

Fiyero didn't want to confess to that one so easily, so he didn't say anything.

"I bet you really miss your wife," Elphaba finished, "and I bet you have a lot of friends, but most of the time you don't feel like you have any."

"Am I really that transparent?" Fiyero muttered.

Elphaba looked at him mischievously from the corner of her eye. "You're a therapist's dream case."

"And what makes you so qualified?" Fiyero retorted, feeling slightly uncomfortable at having his mind read by this mysterious green gypsy woman.

She shrugged. "I work at a bookstore."

Fiyero pursed his lips. "But you're a Shiz graduate!"

"Your point?" Elphaba said bewilderedly.

"Couldn't you do better than a bookstore?" He tried not to offend, but he was sure that this conversation was going to give him a stroke.

Elphaba narrowed her eyes. "Reading is my passion. Wouldn't a bookstore be the ideal place for me to work?" She sighed as his eyebrows rose even further up his forehead. "As long as I have enough to eat and enough fabric to keep me from running around naked, then I have enough money, don't I?"

Before he could help himself, Fiyero did a quick scan of her clothes. Glinda would never go out in public in jeans that weren't designer. In fact, she didn't even wear jeans around the house. But his train of thought ceased when Glinda exited the office on the verge of tears. Instinct told him to wrap his arms around her, but he wasn't supposed to do that anymore.

She wiped at her eye and then came over to him. "I'll pick up the kids after school tomorrow." With a quick nod she left.

"Yeah, okay," Fiyero replied hoarsely.

"I bet she's not doing much better than you are," Elphaba muttered into her book loud enough for Fiyero to hear.


	2. Deer in the Headlights

**You are totally welcome to picture me dancing around my room to Owl City while writing this chapter...because that's what was happening. Although I'm not sure you'd want to...I'm not as proficient with song and dance as I am with magic.**

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><p>"Jillybean, get off the table," Fiyero said tiredly, pulling his daughter into her chair. They'd decided to stop by a cafe for a cookie (and much needed coffee on Fiyero's part.)<p>

"What are we gonna do tonight, daddy?"

Fiyero pushed her tangly blonde hair behind her ears. "We're going to do whatever you want."

Jillian's face lit up. "Really?"

"Nope," Fiyero said cheerfully. "It's Ari's turn tonight."

At the sound of her name the seven year old across the table looked around. "It's my what?"

"What do you want to do tonight?" Fiyero asked gently. "And don't say what I think you're going to."

Ariana's face broke out into a smile. "I want to play dolls."

"AWWWWW!" Fiyero threw his hands up. "How did you know my weakness?"

"And watch princess movies!"

Fiyero stuck out his tongue childishly. "Well, then we're watching _my_ favourite!"

"No, we're not!" Jillian exclaimed.

Putting his hands on his hips, Fiyero teased, "Who made you boss?"

Jillian put her hands on her hips too. "Me!"

"Daddy," Ariana interrupted, "tomorrow can I go to Belle's house?"

Fiyero paused. "Ari...I'm not picking you up tomorrow."

"Then you have to bring us toys after work," Jillian demanded, stomping her foot to emphasize her point.

"Jillybean," Fiyero said softly, "you're with mommy tomorrow."

"Why doesn't she just come home tonight?" The little girl's eyes were wide and shining.

Fiyero inwardly cursed himself and Glinda for not being able to hold it together until the kids were old enough to understand. No matter how many times he tried explaining, the message just wasn't getting across.

Just then the bell above the door chimed as another customer entered. Without thinking Fiyero turned his head and watched the person cross the room to the counter. His breath caught as he noticed the green hand reaching into the back pocket of the non-designer jeans.

"Daddy, why are you staring?" Ariana asked quietly.

"I'm not staring," Fiyero retorted, but his eyes were still glued to Elphaba.

"I think he wants to talk to her," Ariana whispered to Jillian.

Jillian's eyes darted back and forth between Elphaba and Fiyero and then she yelled, "HEY YOU!" And ducked underneath the table.

Elphaba swivelled around just in time to catch Fiyero watching her and she smiled. Wrapping her fingers around her coffee, she walked towards him. "Is it me or is Oz shrinking?"

Fiyero laughed nervously.

She took a sip of her coffee. "So are you here with someone or was that your little girl impression?"

Pulling his chair out, Fiyero allowed his daughters to crawl out from underneath the table.

"Ah, children," Elphaba said flatly. "My favourite."

"So...um...how did your session go?"

Elphaba blinked and then burst out laughing. "Therapist said I should pay for Wizomania tickets and try to make amends with my father. Like hell."

"Quarter for the Swear Jar!" Ariana exclaimed.

"Ariana," Fiyero muttered, "not now."

"It's okay." Elphaba bit her lip as she fished through her pocket and found a quarter. She set it flat on the table. "There you go. Now that's off my conscience."

Fiyero looked around frantically for something to talk about. "...so...coffee...um...do you like it?"

"Only with my oxygen."

"Would...you...er...you can sit with us if you'd like."

Elphaba surveyed him for a moment and then shook herself out of it. "Actually, I have to get back to work, but...if you ever need anything and I'm around..." She paused and then forced herself in the opposite direction towards the door.

Fiyero watched her go and found himself wishing that he hadn't let her get away so easily. His eyes stayed trained on her as she stopped before the door, grabbed a napkin and went back to the counter. She asked the cashier for a pen and scribbled something on the napkin.

Then she walked in his direction and stood in front of him for a moment, smiling her peculiar smile. She pressed the napkin into his hand and headed off for the second time.

Waiting until she was out of sight, Fiyero looked down at the napkin in his hand and beheld a phone number written on it.

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><p>Glinda wandered the bookstore alone, trying to find the books her daughters had commissioned her to buy. She had taken to buying them new toys nearly every time she saw them. She approached the desk where two women sat immersed in books. Preparation. Deep breath. Here it comes.<p>

"Well, we don't get your kind much around here!" One of them exclaimed, the other stayed hidden behind her book, which was upside down.

Glinda cleared her throat. "I was wondering if you could help me find-"

"I didn't know your kind was into reading!"

"My kind?" Glinda muttered. "Anyway...I was just looking for-"

"I guess you don't go by Tigelaar anymore...so are you an Upland again?"

Rubbing her temples, Glinda resolved to try one more time. "Could you please just-"

"What brought the end about? Did he cheat on you? I'm so curious! Did you ever take his name? Was it all a sham?"

"No! Of course not! That's none of your business!" Glinda snapped.

The other woman put down her book and rested a hand on the shoulder of Glinda's torturer. "You know what, Milla? I think I'll take this one."

Glinda recognized her from the therapist's office. How could she forget? The poor woman was green as grass. She didn't want to, but she followed her away from the desk and in between a few shelves.

"You'll have to excuse us commoners," she started, "it's not every day Lady Glinda walks into our store. Some of us are still out of practice."

"It's fine," Glinda said hesitantly. "Could you help me find something?"

"I can help you find anything, as long as you're willing to do a little searching yourself."

Glinda smiled. "I've never been a big fan of riddles."

"I'll remember to write that in my notebook later," she replied thoughtfully.

"Notebook of what?"

"Anything at all," she stated, "you'd be surprised how you can look back and see all of the things you've learned in a day. For example, I just decided I could never look good as a blonde."

"You never know until you try," Glinda replied kindly.

"That's fair."

"Do you have a name?" Glinda asked shyly.

"Would you like the long version or short version?"

Glinda couldn't help but smile. She had no idea what was going on. "Short should do."

"I'm Elphaba." The woman stuck out a hand and Glinda shook it. Against her expectations, it was just like any other human hand. "Now, what can I help you with?"

"I need to stock up on kids books," Glinda replied.

"For your daughters?"

"For my daughters," she agreed.

"Well, I think I can find some bubbly, perky, girly, pinky books that would do just fine." Elphaba took Glinda's hand and led her off towards the back of the store where she kept good on her promise and loaded Glinda's arms with books.

When it was getting heavy, Glinda decided, "I think this is good. I'll go pay."

Elphaba stopped in the midst of picking another one. "But what about for yourself?"

"I don't read."

With a gasp, Elphaba dropped the books in her hand. "Then it's time to start!"

Glinda laughed. "Oh no, I could never get through a single one...all of the words..."

"There has to be something you're interested in learning about," Elphaba thought out loud, then looked at Glinda. "It doesn't have to be real, you know."

"Doesn't have to be real?" Glinda said falsely, "In that case, how about love?"

Elphaba burst out laughing. "Oh, a romantic." She took Glinda's hand again and led her to another section where she picked out one book. "Well, you can start with that one and then let me know how it goes." She stared at Glinda, who blinked blankly. "Don't disappoint me."

Glinda stood there for a moment. She liked Elphaba's eyes. They were dark and stunning, frightening almost...but at the same time there was something endearing and warm. "I never did take his name," she blurted, "I guess I knew something was going to go wrong and I didn't want to give him _everything_."

Momentarily bewildered, Elphaba bit her lip. "Well...I commend you, Lady Glinda Upland. You have more spunk than you let on."


	3. Imagination Bootcamp

**I'm getting this last update in before I go back to that heckhole I call high school tomorrow. I can't wait until I get to Shiz...anyway, let's begin! Oh, Avaric...in some offbeat way we owe this chapter to you. *Bows down* I am not worthy of the great Tenmeadows. **

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><p>"Fiyero, I hate to say this..." Avaric started from the doorway of his friend's office. He didn't sound very apologetic.<p>

Fiyero groaned. "What did you do now?"

"I volunteered you for my overtime shift today...but it's okay. You don't have a life anymore."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

Avaric didn't catch the sarcasm. "I knew you would!" He tried to get away, but Fiyero called him back.

"That means you have to pick up my kids," he said.

"No can do." Avaric flashed Fiyero a mischievous smile. "I'm not keeping kid friendly company tonight, if you know what I mean."

"Sometimes I wonder why I'm your friend," Fiyero muttered.

"Sometimes I wonder that too," Avaric admitted and then ran off as fast as he could.

Fiyero slumped back into his chair and pushed it back and forth. Whoever invented rolling office chairs knew exactly what they were doing. Reaching for the phone on the desk in front of him, Fiyero tried Glinda's number...no answer. As usual.

Trying every number he knew by heart, even his parents, who weren't going to be much help seeing as they were in the Vinkus, Fiyero couldn't find anyone who was free or actually picked up their phone.

Reaching into his back pocket, Fiyero pulled out his cell with high hopes that there was someone on his contact list that would prove themselves useful. It was astounding, really, all of those friends and not one of them actually pulled through when he needed them.

But in the process of pulling out his phone a napkin fluttered to the ground. Fiyero assumed it was from his lunch and went to throw it out...except there was faded writing on the back. It must have gone through the wash, but it was still legible.

And it was a phone number. Bingo!

Fiyero made his decision as he made every other life decision: impulsively. He punched in the numbers before he could regret it and listened to the ringing.

One.

Two.

Three.

"You've reached the Indifference Hotline. How may I end this call sooner?" The voice sounded faintly amused.

Fiyero couldn't help but smile. "You don't get many calls, do you?"

"What services are required of me?"

"Babysitting," Fiyero said hopefully.

"You'll have to provide a baby for me to sit on." He knew she was joking, but she sounded serious.

"Will my two daughters suffice?"

"Hmmm," Elphaba replied, "well if it's a nanny you need, then I can refer you to an excellent one."

"Actually..." Fiyero hesitated. What was he doing? Deep breath. "I was hoping _you _could watch the girls."

"Me? But..." Elphaba sighed. "That's understandable...Nanny has gone a bit- ..._Nanny's a good soul."_

"You'll do it?" Fiyero said excitedly.

Elphaba sucked in a breath. "So what do I have to do?"

"You have to pick them up at about..." Fiyero checked his watch. "Now."

"Thanks for the notice," Elphaba muttered. "And then where do I take them?"

"Um...well, to your place I guess...you know," he rushed, "if it isn't too much trouble."

She heard the stress in his voice and replied, "No, no, that's fine, I'll see you later."

Hanging up, Fiyero stared at his phone bewilderedly. A smile spread across his face. He hadn't realized he would get to see her again.

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><p>Elphaba placed her hands flat on the counter of the desk and said, "I'm here to pick up Ariana and Jillian Tigelaar."<p>

The secretary stared at her in horror and pointed to the chairs in the corner of the office.

"Don't worry I'm not going to eat them," Elphaba snapped, "I much prefer eating kittens."

"I bet I would taste delicious," a girl's voice said behind Elphaba, "and this is your chance."

Elphaba spun around to face the two little girls. One was glaring at her; the other was chewing her wrist in an effort to taste herself. "I think we should go before they call Child Services on me."

The girls hopped up and pulled the straps of their backpacks over their shoulders. Elphaba waved to the secretary and led the girls to the bus stop in front of the school.

"What is this?" Jillian asked.

"This is the portal where we take the submarine to my underwater castle," Elphaba replied seriously.

"No," Ariana countered, "this is the bus stop."

"Fine," Elphaba relented tiredly, "but my way is so much more fun. You'll see."

They waited in silence until the bus came and then Elphaba picked up Jillian and paid their fare. With the way they were looking around you'd think they'd never been on a bus before. Which they probably hadn't.

"This is really gross," Ariana decided. She eyed all of the people sitting around her warily and slid slightly closer to Elphaba, even though she didn't trust her either.

"When are you going to eat me?" Jillian asked Elphaba.

Elphaba suppressed a smile. Oh to be a stupid child again... "I won't eat you," she said quietly, "but there are a few fish in the sea that you should be careful of." She pointed discreetly at a chubby woman sitting in the back of the bus. Her lips were pursed and she wore far too much makeup for a lady of her age.

"See that one?" Elphaba hissed. "That's a bad fish. She'll gobble you up if you don't swim home fast enough."

Jillian cowered. "I heard that the red fishes are the meanest."

"It's true," Elphaba agreed.

"This is stupid," Ariana said hatefully and trained her eyes on the floor. "Take us home."

"You're always welcome to swim away," Elphaba offered and dug through her bag for her phone. "Here you go, swim away young fish."

Ariana glared at Elphaba and stayed in her seat. "Where's our dad?"

"He got pulled into the Eastern Ozian Current."

"Because the blue fish are all a little bit brainless," Jillian explained, continuing on with her game. "They have a pretty pattern all over." She stuck her legs out straight in front of her and gestured along the length of her body. "And they like to show it off to all the _girl_ fish."

Elphaba laughed. "Oh, so that's why they always wear a shirt open at the neck."

"And the pink fish float around in their bubbles," Jillian continued. "All the other fish are jealous because they have the prettiest hair." She twirled her own curly blonde pigtails around her fingers.

"What about the green fish?" Ariana snarled.

"Not to brag, but we're the smartest," Elphaba answered calmly. "And you?"

"I'm a red fish," she retorted.

Jillian pushed herself up onto her knees and whispered into Elphaba's ear. "She doesn't like anybody but mommy."

"Mommy's girl?" Elphaba turned to Ariana and then to Jillian. "So you're the daddy's girl?" Jillian nodded and Elphaba couldn't help but break into a smile at her childhood arrogance. "Because you're the blonde, right?"

"That's not true," Ariana interrupted, reaching for her sandy hair. It wasn't as light as Jillian's. "It just works like that."

"Alright, alright," Elphaba relented, but she couldn't help but notice. Ariana had a much more Vinkun look about her, as Jillian looked Gillikinese. Maybe that whole family had been created just to be split right along the middle.

"Are we there yet?" Jillian sighed.

"Almost."

"Why not?" The little girl demanded.

"Because it's bumpada-bumpada traffic," Elphaba said amusedly. She noticed the look Ariana shot her. "What? I can't invent my own language?" She leant down and whispered to Jillian. "It's called_ Idinish_."

Jillian laughed and waited a few seconds. "_Now_ are we there yet?"

"Close your eyes," Elphaba advised and the child did as she was told. "Now imagine we're there."

Scrunching up her nose and squeezing her eyelids, Jillian muttered under her breath and then her eyes shot open. "Are we there?"

Elphaba nodded and took Jillian's hand. Ariana followed reluctantly behind. They came up to the old, blue apartment building.

"You live here?" Ariana said angrily. "This is the wrong side of town."

"Why?" Elphaba defended. It wasn't the most wonderful building, but it was home. "Because it's not where the rich people live?" She clicked her tongue. "I think it's time for you to expand your imagination a little bit, young lady." Her tone wasn't condescending. She was speaking to Ariana as she spoke to the girl's mother, to her father...to everyone. Children were people too. "I could help you. Once I put my sister through Imagination Bootcamp."

Ariana sunk into an even further sulk.


	4. She's a Rebel

**This chapter is dedicated to those extremely loyal, extremely wonderful Munchkins who have been reading and reviewing from the beginning. You know exactly who you are. Glinda smooches for my pretties! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo!**

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><p>As Elphaba led the girls into the elevator, she felt more uncomfortable. She wasn't ashamed of her home, but it wasn't every day that she let people in so easily. Hopefully Fiyero would recognize that and not ask her to do anything like this again.<p>

Fishing through her pocket for her key, Elphaba opened the door and gestured inside. Jillian wandered around the rooms, while Ariana stood in the doorway. The rooms were disorganized. Odd trinkets and old family photos adorned shelves. Random piles of books sat everywhere. There was a small television across from the couch, a little round table that was cluttered with papers and pens and Elphaba's bedroom which was just a continuation of the mess.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Elphaba asked Ariana evenly.

Ariana nodded. "I don't belong in these kinds of places."

"My apologies, Mademoiselle, that this isn't to your taste."

Jillian skipped out of the kitchen. "Where are the toys?"

"Toys?" Elphaba bit her lip unintentionally. "Uh oh."

"It's okay," Jillian reassured happily, "I always come prepared." She set down her bag and pulled out three dolls.

Elphaba took them into her hands. "_This_ is what you play with?" She asked incredulously.

Bottom lip trembling, Jillian nodded. "What's wrong with them?"

"They look exactly the same!" Elphaba surveyed the waist length blonde hair, tiny waists, blue eyes and formal gowns that the dolls were outfitted with.

"They weren't going to make green dolls, if that's what you mean," Ariana snapped.

"Maybe they should," Elphaba shot back, disregarding Ariana's youth again.

Meanwhile, Jillian was looking at her dolls with new eyes. "But I don't want them to be the same. I don't want them to! There's nothing I can do!"

"There's always something you can do," Elphaba said thoughtfully. She disappeared into her room and returned with a pair of scissors, some fabric and paint. She sat Jillian on the couch and convinced Ariana to join them.

Together, they worked on fashioning new outfits for the dolls; they gave one of them a new haircut and experimented with the paints. When they finished Elphaba switched on cartoons and sat on the floor in front of the couch, because Jillian wanted to play with her hair.

Halfway through _Fairly OzParents_, a knock sounded at the door and Elphaba went to open it. Fiyero stood there, a nervous, crooked grin on his face.

"Is everything okay with the girls?" He asked.

"What girls?" Elphaba replied bewilderedly, her eyes widening.

Fiyero's face fell. "Oh no..."

Elphaba laughed. "I'm kidding."

The relief was obvious. "Thank goodness." He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "So...um I guess...we'll go." Why did she make him so nervous?

Turning to call the girls, Elphaba waited by the door, not saying anything. But she didn't look awkward or uncomfortable. Jillian ran to Fiyero and he picked her up. Ariana clung to his legs.

"Daddy, I had so much fun," Jillian whispered.

With some surprise, Fiyero glanced at Elphaba, who was focused on a pile of books by the door. She didn't seem like the type to be good with kids...but she certainly had made an impression on him. He wanted to say something. But what? Why couldn't he think of something? Where did all of his smooth talking talent disappear to? And _why _was he asking himself all of these stupid questions? "Thank you. You've been so much help to me." He meant more than just picking up his daughters.

"It was nothing," Elphaba said quietly.

"It's just...I'm sorry...I know we're just strangers-"

"The definition of stranger is 'one who is strange.'" Elphaba met his eyes. "I think everyone's a little bit of a stranger to us, wouldn't you agree? Maybe I'll always just be a little bit more a stranger than everyone else. In that case, we're not strangers."

"And in that case, I'm glad we're more than just strangers." Fiyero offered a hand and Elphaba stared at it. "A handshake?"

Elphaba's eyes widened. "You want _me_ to shake your hand?"

Fiyero nodded. "They say shaking hands with a Winkie is good luck."

Hesitantly, Elphaba reached out and placed her hand in his. Fiyero wrapped his fingers around hers and shook gently, hands lingering a little longer than necessary.

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><p>Eyes wide and staring, lips parted, eyebrows arched. Was it really that they cared about her divorce or that they were too keen on seeing the downfall of the always perfect Lady Glinda?<p>

After her meeting, Glinda walked along a different shopping route. If there was one thing that could make her feel better, it was a good splurge. But this time it wasn't cutting it. This meeting had been particularly vicious.

Glinda wandered past the bookstore again. The last time she had actually talked to someone had been the last time she talked to that odd green woman...and it had been the first time she had felt something other than confused, tired or irritated in a long while.

Maybe...

Without another thought, Glinda pushed her way inside and approached the desk. Unfortunately, it wasn't Elphaba at the counter. "Excuse me?" She asked politely. "Is Elphaba in?"

One look at Glinda and... "Oh no, sorry. I'll have to meet your requirements."

But the door to the back opened and Elphaba emerged with a half eaten sandwich and a full mouth. "Did you call me, Milla?" She noticed Glinda. "Hi, there. Everything good?"

"Now it is," Glinda said truthfully. "I was wondering if you could help me find another book to read."

Elphaba looked slightly surprise, but the joy showed in the spring of her step. "Of course!" She beckoned for Glinda to follow her without question.

Glinda liked that. In fact, Glinda_ loved_ that. Those stupid questions were nowhere to be asked.

"So how did you like the last one?" Elphaba asked, glancing back at Glinda through a curtain of hair.

"The last?" Glinda perked up. "Oh...the book...um...it was good."

"Would you like a longer one?"

"About the same length would be great."

Elphaba pursed her lips. "But you're never going to get anywhere if you don't try for something more each time."

Glinda always felt like Elphaba meant more than she was saying when she spoke like that. Did she try or was it natural? She couldn't decide, so she asked.

"Does it apply to real life?" Elphaba stopped and tilted her head. "I suppose so. Every time you meet someone you seem to know them a little better, but that means you have to give away a little more of yourself each time." She fidgeted with a book that had been misplaced.

"By that logic, you should tell me something about yourself," Glinda said slyly.

"Ask away."

"Why are you being so kind to me?"

It wasn't an easy answer. But there wasn't much thought required. Elphaba was able to pinpoint it easily. "Because there's more to you, Glinda Upland and it's ready to come out."

Glinda couldn't help herself. "But people like me...and someone like you..."

"Can't be friends?" Elphaba finished indifferently. "Hmm. Maybe that's what's wrong with the world. Would you like to break rules with me, Lady Glinda? I wouldn't mind having a real friend for once."

Hesitating, Glinda answered that. A _real_ friend? Maybe that's what she needed more than anything at this point in time. "Yes, Elphaba, we'll break rules."

"Wonderful!" Elphaba fingered the spines of a few books and then pulled one off the shelf and handed it to Glinda with a knowing smile. "Maybe you can actually _read _the book this time."


	5. Some Lessons Learned

**I made it through the first week back at school! I know you're proud of me. And as usual, I am here putting my story before school work. So here's a little something to get the Fiyeraba moving along. BUT HAVE NO FEAR GELPHITES! I gotta special somethin' cooking up for the next chapter. And I'd love to know which couple you're shipping. Not only in this story but in general. Until then...Ozspeed my lovelies.**

* * *

><p>After work Elphaba always went home. It was her routine. Work, home...sometimes she'd stop at the library to use the computers. Her sister insisted on emailing because according to her it was the latest thing. Of course, Nessa had a phone that she could email from. Elphaba couldn't even text from hers. Which was fine. Elphaba didn't have anyone to text.<p>

Of course, now she had one friend. Maybe two, if she squinted. Fiyero seemed nice enough. But nice wasn't something that Elphaba particularly cared for.

She was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket when there was a knock at the door. Looking around confusedly, Elphaba exhaled sharply. She never got callers. Hence the reason she was alone, in her pj's, watching TV, in a blanket, after dinner, after work...but still she went to answer.

"Oh!" Elphaba couldn't help the reaction when Fiyero was at the door. He looked like he was lost.

"I'm sorry, is it a bad time?"

"No, I'm just...what_ are_ you doing here?" Elphaba blurted, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself.

Fiyero rubbed the back of his neck. "The girls wanted to see you again."

Elphaba poked her head out of the door and looked both ways. Fiyero and herself were the only ones in the hall. She stepped out. "Where are they?"

"I don't have them tonight."

"Oh, really?" Elphaba took a step forward and Fiyero took a step backward. "That's odd. I wonder..." She watched him from under her eyelashes. "Was there someone_ else_ who wanted to see me?"

Fiyero's palms were sweaty and he couldn't get a grip on his words, but he didn't want to make himself into the bumbling idiot he already had, so he told the one thing he could without regretting it: the truth. "Yes." He stepped forward and closed most of the gap between them. "I was alone, but I didn't really want to be."

"What a coincidence," she replied. "So was I."

Holding up the two coffee cups he had purchased, Fiyero offered one to her. "I brought you one...since you like coffee."

Elphaba took it. "How very sweet." It was meant to be sarcastic, but it didn't come out that way. She watched Fiyero for a moment. "Would you like to come in?"

Nodding Fiyero followed her in and closed the door behind him. He stopped as Elphaba sat on the couch and watched the television. "Cartoons?" Sure enough colourful characters with high voices danced across the screen.

"Laugh if you will, but I learn much more from these than those ridiculous dramas people my age watch." She plopped onto the couch. "Did you know cheaters never prosper?"

"On the contrary, _the Secret Life of the Ozian Senior_ is an enlightening show," Fiyero teased.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," Elphaba retorted. "That was taught in the episode before this."

"I've already been taught that lesson."

"I'm sure that was a wonderful teacher." They surveyed each other for a second and then Elphaba bolted upright. "Can I get you anything?" She started off toward the kitchen.

"No." Fiyero caught her hand as she passed by. "Stay."

Elphaba found her seat again, except this time she slid slightly closer to Fiyero. "So you said your children want to see me?" She laughed shrilly. "You're a capable liar, you are."

"I wasn't lying," Fiyero argued. "Jillian loves you. Usually, it's difficult to get her to stop talking, but after she met you it was impossible."

"And the other one?"

Fiyero hesitated. "Ari...she doesn't approve of any woman I talk to that isn't Glinda."

"Understandable."

"She wouldn't talk to me for a week because I met her sixty year old teacher at a parent/teacher interview. But I don't know how to break her out of that," Fiyero admitted, his vulnerability showing in his tone of voice.

"Can I tell you what I think?" Elphaba asked. "It's not my place...and I have no experience whatsoever, but..." She trailed off.

"No, please, I'd love to know," Fiyero encouraged.

"I think you should spend more time with them. They need it. _You _need it. Hiding behind work isn't doing you any good."

Fiyero stayed quiet, so Elphaba reached out and wrapped her hand around his. He looked up at her bewilderedly.

"Holding hands with someone green is good luck."

"I need to ask you something," Fiyero burst out. He couldn't concentrate. "I need _help_ with the kids. Without Glinda I have no clue what I'm doing."

Elphaba pulled her hand away. "Fiyero...I don't know..."

"Please?" He begged and reached for her hand again.

She could feel herself softening. "What would you need me to do?"

"Just tell me what I'm doing wrong...help me deal with them better." Fiyero shrugged. "At this point I'm desperate."

"But I don't know what I'm doing," Elphaba pointed out. "How could I help you be a good parent if I don't know what a good parent is?"

"You can read me better than anyone else I've ever met."

Elphaba hesitated and flattened herself back against the couch.

Suddenly it seemed to hit Fiyero what he was doing. "I'm sorry," he rushed. "I'm asking too much and we've only-"

She turned to face him. "I'll help you, Fiyero." Before he could react, she lunged forward and dug her hand into his pocket, pulling out his phone. Biting her lip, she tried to work it and it took a while before she got to what she was aiming for. She called someone and then handed the phone back to a bewildered Fiyero. "You've taken ill and won't make it into work tomorrow. Some guy named Avaric is covering for you. You're going to take your daughters down to the new unicorn exhibit at the Central City Zoo. If anyone asks, you have the Glikkun flu."

"What's that?"

A mischievous look came over Elphaba. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."


	6. Poison

Elphaba could tell immediately that something was bothering Glinda. She wasn't talking at all and she had a crease in between her eyebrows that wasn't going away. She chewed away at her lip and didn't notice that she putting books in the wrong places.

"When you offered to help," Elphaba said mock-irritably, "I didn't think you meant just pretending to know where the books go." She took one of the books that Glinda had misplaced and added it to her cart.

"I can't!" Glinda stamped her heel on the ground. "Elphie, I'm so upset!"

Elphaba crossed her arms. "I noticed."

"They're going to remove me from the Council of Magic. That would mean losing everything! My title is the only thing I have!"

Holding up her hands, Elphaba sighed. "Back up. Why are they kicking you off?"

"Because I can't get spells right. I can't get anything right." Glinda stared up at the ceiling. "And do you think they try to help me improve? Of course not!" Her shoulders were shaking and she looked as if she would spontaneously burst into tears.

"Get a hold of yourself, woman!" Elphaba gripped Glinda's shoulders. "You don't need those fools to improve your magic!"

"Then I'm going to get _removed_." Glinda's voice went deeper and sounded superior. She must have been mocking one of her council associates.

"Glinda, if you give up on everything so easily, you're never going to get anywhere!" Elphaba scolded. "Not everything can be served to you on a silver platter."

"So that's it?" Glinda cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "That's all you're going to say? Well, then I hope you can offer me a job here because I'll be applying soon enough!"

"I wasn't finished, drama queen," Elphaba said fondly. "Yours truly has attended a couple of sorcery seminars here and there."

Glinda wiped at her eyes and attempted to stop mascara from running down her cheeks. "Would you help me?" She asked innocently.

Elphaba nodded. "Was that really worth crying over?"

"A good cry never hurt anyone," Glinda retorted.

"Unless you were allergic to water," Elphaba mused. "Damn tears, they would burn like fire."

* * *

><p>"Wand up," Elphaba instructed and held her own wand to her chest. Her back was to Glinda and Glinda's back was to her. "Three steps forward. One, two, three. GO!"<p>

Glinda spun around and pointed her wand at Elphaba. "BALLGOWN!"

Nothing happened.

"Oz dammit!" Glinda cursed. "I can't get it!"

Elphaba pursed her lips. "Hold on, I think I felt something that time." She slipped out of her boots and her formerly black socks were striped orange and purple. "I should save these for my sister. She loves funky socks."

Again, Glinda was on the verge of tears. Two hours practicing in her apartment and when she wanted a ballgown she got tacky socks?

Pointing her wand at Glinda, Elphaba shouted, "BALLGOWN!" And Glinda's skirt grew into a frilly pink dress. Another to add to the pile of ballgowns that Elphaba had created. Four of Glinda's skirts were now extravagant evening wear. "Maybe you're not feeling this spell?" Elphaba guessed.

"How can I not? Fashion is the one thing I know better than everything else!"

"There's got to be something else you care about," Elphaba thought. She tapped her chin. "I got it!" She disappeared into another room.

Glinda watched as Elphaba entered the room again holding a glass of water. How she had found it, Glinda did not know. Elphaba poured something from a white plastic bottle into the water.

She held up the bottle. "This is a powerful cleaning agent. It's also very poisonous. And stupid me poured it into my drinking water." Elphaba raised the glass to her lips and was about to take a sip.

"ELPHIE, ARE YOU INSANE?" Glinda cried. Elphaba tilted the glass. The liquid flowed. Glinda threw her wand in front of her and pointed at the glass, chanting words out loud.

Elphaba poured the glass into her mouth and Glinda gasped. Then Elphaba smiled and emptied the glass onto the floor. Nothing came out. She tilted it toward Glinda and Glinda saw that the poisonous liquid was ice. Elphie hadn't had any of it.

"YOU DID IT, GLINDA!" Elphaba cried and threw her arms around Glinda.

Glinda was still in shock. "ELPHABA THROPP, YOU ARE THE STUPIDEST PERSON I HAVE EVER MET! HOW COULD YOU EVEN CONTEMPLATE DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT? I OUGHT TO-"

"But don't you see, Glinda?" Elphaba couldn't mask her happiness. "You _knew_ that I was going to do it. You _know_ me. And called on your powers to save me. That's a good witch if I ever saw one."

Tears were brimming in Glinda's eyes. She was still in shock. She had performed the perfect spell...and Elphaba had almost poisoned herself for the sake of it...that's dedication. Dedication to Glinda? What a terrific feeling. "Elphie, I think I need a break."

Elphaba pretended to wipe her forehead. She exhaled loudly. "Me too. That was a little intense."

"Do you want to go out for lunch?" Glinda offered. "My treat."

Hesitating for a moment, Elphaba nodded. "Sure."

Glinda looked Elphaba over. "We're going to have to do something about your outfit though."

* * *

><p>Rooting through her closet, Glinda kept picking out outfits that she thought would suit Elphaba. Despite her previous beliefs, it was actually pretty easy. Elphaba had a beautiful figure. "I hope you don't get in trouble for skipping work," she confessed.<p>

"Oh." Elphaba sat up straight. "I forgot about that." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone.

Glinda took a look at the phone and burst out laughing. "Elphie, that thing is ancient!"

Elphaba looked down at the silver flip phone. "Well...it was my sister's first phone."

"How much older is she?"

Elphaba laughed. "She's actually three years younger. But the way my family works is that I get her hand-me-downs."

Glinda poked her head out of the closet. "And you're okay with that?"

"I guess so." Elphaba shrugged. "I don't use the phone much anyway."

"But in general?"

Feeling uncomfortable, Elphaba fidgeted with her phone. Flipping and unflipping it. "My family is kind of backwards."

"That's alright," said Glinda, pulling out a ruffled red shirt. "My family's so straightforward it's boring. I hope my own doesn't turn out like that."

"Your daughters are probably the only kids I've ever been able to tolerate," Elphaba reassured her.

Glinda sighed. "I'm glad to hear that. After everything I've put them through." She sat down on the bed beside Elphaba. "It's all my fault."

Elphaba's eyes widened. "Glinda, I don't ever want to hear you say anything like that again! Have some self-respect!"

"Excuse me?"

"Fiyero is as responsible for this as you are. You _both_ tried your best and you_ both_ failed together."

"We failed together?" Glinda scoffed. "That sounds lovely."

"I can't lie to you," Elphaba said cheerfully. "My nose will grow and I'll look even funnier."

"But you don't look funny."

Elphaba laughed loudly. "Now _your _nose is growing!"

Glinda felt her nose. Still normal. "But I wasn't lying. So now your nose is growing because you told a lie about me lying." She took Elphaba's hand.

Colour crept into Elphaba's cheeks. The salmon flush highlighted her high cheekbones. She reached up to hide it, but Glinda pulled her hands back. "I wasn't lying, Elphie. I think you're beautiful."

Elphaba stood up. "Did you pick my outfit yet?"

Glinda reached behind her for a pencil skirt and the red top she had previously chosen. She pointed her towards the bathroom and waited. When Elphaba came back, Glinda started with the makeup. She didn't know why, but she wanted this lunch to be special.

"I can do it myself, you know," Elphaba said, grabbing the eyeliner pencil from Glinda.

Watching as Elphaba did a wing on her eyelid with the eyeliner, Glinda was amused. She hadn't expected Elphaba to be able to wield the makeup so well. "You're so normal-" She giggled. "-in an unnormal way."

"What?" Elphaba grabbed the brush that was lying on Glinda's dresser. "I sing into my hairbrush just like every other girl." She curled her fist around the handle of the brush and held it to her lips. "Hey now! Hey now! This is what dreeeeeams are made of!" She handed it off to Glinda and looked at her expectantly. "It's your turn." She sighed when Glinda didn't. "You know? The blonde in pink and the brunette in green? Although I give that a whole new meaning."

Glinda laughed. "You might just be the most ridiculous person I've ever met."

"Don't be a snob, Glinda. It hides your muchness."


	7. Enigmatic

Fiyero had been showing up at Elphaba's apartment every night. He liked to think that he was getting to know her better, but she just became more and more mysterious. Elphaba Thropp, who watched cartoons because dramas were lame. Who took a triple shot of coffee at midnight and complained about insomnia. Who had a degree in science, but worked at a bookstore. Who hated children, but was amazing with them. Who had no friends, but was the best friend he had ever had.

"Explain to me again, why you won't give anything other than cartoons a chance?" Fiyero asked while he was stuck watching reruns of SpongeBoz SquareShorts. "There's a gooseball game if I'm allowed to change."

Elphaba paused in the doorway, hands on her hips. "Do I look like the sporty type to you?"

Fiyero's eyes wandered over her body. He decided it was best not to answer that.

"The only exercise I do is run after the bus when I miss it," Elphaba continued obliviously.

"You wouldn't have that problem if you had a ride." He leaned back and rested his head in his hands.

"Are you offering?"

Fiyero clicked his tongue. "I wouldn't want you to waste more money on bus tickets. Oz knows you could use it on designer jeans and cartoon DVDs."

Elphaba stuck out her tongue at him. "And I wouldn't want you to waste money on super-mega-ultra gas for your fuel guzzling, pollutionary, first class sports car."

"It flies too," Fiyero teased.

"Then how can I refuse?"

* * *

><p>Fiyero picked Elphaba up the next morning. It was cold out, but she waited outside the building in her thin jacket and thick scarf, looking perfectly content. Seeing her face made Fiyero's day instantly better.<p>

"Good morning!" He chimed as he stepped out of the car and opened the passenger door.

"Oh, a gentleman," Elphaba commented as she slid into the seat.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"No reason," Elphaba murmured.

Fiyero returned to his seat and began driving away. "So how was your night?"

Elphaba faked a yawn. "Long. I had an annoying visitor who wouldn't stop bothering me." She tapped her forehead. "I forget his name."

"I think I know him." Fiyero grinned. "Nice guy."

Staring out the window, Elphaba nodded. "And your night?"

"Also long. There's this girl who wouldn't let me leave her apartment. I felt like a captive." He glanced at her amused expression. "I think she's a little obsessed with me."

"Self-flattery is the lowest form of a self-esteem boost, Lord Sir Fiyero." She pointed at the closest intersection. "You can let me off there."

"But we're still a few blocks away," Fiyero responded bewilderedly.

"I know that," Elphaba replied, "but I like to walk the last bit. It's my...thinking time."

"Alright," Fiyero relented and parked at the side of the road. "I'll see you later?" He asked hopefully.

Elphaba stepped out of the car and paused in the open door. She ducked her head inside. "You know...if you'd like...you can come with me."

Fiyero grinned again. He couldn't help it. Pulling the key out of the ignition, he joined her and they walked together side by side. They didn't say anything and it was enough. Every so often the back of their hands brushed and it sent tingles through Fiyero. But as they neared the intersection before the last block he felt a kind of inner panic. He didn't want to let her go.

So he reached out and took her hand. She looked up at him with a faint smile and squeezed it.

They held hands as they walked the last block together.

* * *

><p>Fiyero sat in Elphaba's apartment, completely relaxed after a tedious day at the office. "I've been meaning to ask you something."<p>

"Mhm."

"You're not in a relationship, are you?"

Elphaba seemed surprised at the question and then she broke out in laughter. "Me? Aha. That's a good one."

He didn't like her putting herself down, but he adored that answer. "I'll take that as a no."

"Well, technically I'm married," she finished.

Fiyero's face fell. "What?"

"To my books," she said casually.

Now Fiyero laughed. "I should have guessed that."

"Well, I love them," Elphaba defended forcefully.

"I think that's a different kind of love," Fiyero reasoned, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"Is it?"

"Well...yeah." Fiyero shrugged. "Marriage is a bond. Books can't love you back." He was sure Elphaba's eyes got darker and more forlorn.

"But one has to make do with what she has."

Fiyero felt bad for bringing up the topic. "Don't worry. It's not like I did much better. I married my first love without thinking and treated her like a _sister_. Glinda deserved better."

"Not if she had the best."

"Well, thank you." Fiyero shook off the conversation. "So I guess you don't have any hilarious 'boyfriends of ages past' stories?"

Elphaba shook her head. "I intend to stay a virgin for life. Like Ozma Virginarious."

"Get out." Fiyero laughed. "There's no such person."

"No! I'm serious!" Elphaba cried. "My mom met her!" She cleared her throat. "Of course they didn't get along very well...because my mom was very...she was more...anyway...what about you?"

"I have two kids," Fiyero said flatly.

Elphaba blushed. "Oh, good point." She sunk onto the couch beside Fiyero and absentmindedly reached for his hand. They were silent for a few moments and then an idea hit her. "Do you want to go see a movie?"

"Right now?"

"When else?"

Fiyero blinked. "Are you asking me out?"

"That depends." Elphaba shrugged and went to get her jacket. "Does it count if I'm still going whether you come or not?"

"I can't let a young lady like you go out unescorted on a Friday night."

"I can't let a boring young man like you sit on the couch on a Friday night."

"Touché."

* * *

><p>The movie was good enough, but Fiyero couldn't concentrate with Elphaba beside him. Sometimes she'd whisper something and he'd spend time focusing on her words and the sound of her voice. Or he'd suddenly be conscious of her knee brushing against his when she crossed her legs and angled her body towards his. And then halfway through she took his hand and twined her fingers around his.<p>

One thing he was absolutely certain of: Elphaba Thropp was sending his brain into overdrive.

* * *

><p><strong>I realize that it does seem like a lot more Fiyeraba than Gelphie...and it is. I think the ratio was something like 30:25. But I did that on purpose while I was writing because I felt that the Gelphie meetings were much more meaningful than the Fiyeraba ones. Fiyero is definitely not as forward as Glinda. Anyway, thanks for reading! <strong>

**And also, do you know that feeling you get when you find a new band you really like? Everything's really upbeat and bright? That's how I feel right now. I also re-watched Alice in Wonderland and now my world is turning into a Wonderland. Either I'm loving life or exams are over-stressing my already exhausted brain. On that note, I apologize for any spelling mistakes. Editing is way out of the question at the moment. Just thought I'd share that with you.**


	8. The Girl with the Butterfly Tattoo

**And the author said, "LET THERE BE FLUFF!"**

* * *

><p>After Elphaba's help with her magic, Glinda surprised everyone on the Council of Magic and was elevated to a higher position...which ultimately meant more work. She couldn't go see Elphaba as often as she would have liked, so sometimes she asked her to pick up the girls and wait for her when she came home.<p>

The only downside being that she was so much more stressed. What with all of this magic and balancing her kids alone. It wasn't easy on her when she had spent all of her life with other people taking the lead.

One day, Glinda was shocked to see the foyer of her apartment covered in old sheets and blankets to protect the furniture. And in the middle sat four canvases and three girls holding pallets and brushes in their hands.

"What is this?" Glinda exclaimed.

"We're painting!" Jillian shrieked happily. Ariana was quiet. She usually was when Elphaba was around, but she wasn't as openly rude now that she had seen how much trust there was between Glinda and her green friend.

"I hope that's alright," Elphaba said, although she didn't sound apologetic. Her hair was looped messily on her head and she had a smudge on her cheek. She looked like an artist. "I figured we could all use some art therapy." She gestured to the empty canvas beside her. "Join us!"

"No thank you," Glinda said politely, "I really don't want to ruin-"

"Come see what I drew!" Jillian cried.

Glinda walked cautiously over to the canvas. Jillian's was bright and colourful.

"I call it Wonderland," she explained and pointed to a white blob in the corner. "That's the rabbit and he's always late. Like you!"

Next Ariana was waiting to show off hers. "Mine's called Earth. They're all pretty little liars and everything's an unfortunate event." It was true. Ariana's did look rather dreary compared to Jillian's.

"That's great, honey!" Glinda said tiredly and went to change.

"Hold on!" Elphaba exclaimed. "You didn't look at mine!" She pulled Glinda to her canvas. "I call it Narnia," she said proudly and pointed at the lion she had painted. "That's my good friend Aslan. I saved his life once."

All three of them looked at Glinda expectantly. "Now it's your turn," Elphaba commanded and pointed to the canvas. "Go make up your world, mum."

"I can't paint," Glinda protested mildly.

"Sure you can! You paint your face every two hours!" Elphaba retorted.

Glinda's fingers went to the carefully blended eyeshadow on her eyelids. "Really..."

Elphaba pressed the brush into her hand. "Go for it."

"I'll just paint Oz," Glinda said flatly.

"Not allowed!" Jillian interrupted. "Make up your own!"

Glinda began blending colours. "Alright...this is...Kanziz."

"Kanziz?"

Nodding, Glinda began swirling the grey colour she had mixed onto the page. "Cows fly and witches ride these funny things called bi-cy-cles." She made the outline of some kind of machine with two wheels, getting more caught up in her imaginary world. Drawing a person on the vehicle, Glinda made it look similar to Elphaba.

"What a beauty," Elphaba muttered.

Glinda stepped back from her painting. It was rushed, but it had been fun. "Voila!"

"Simply wonderful, darling!" Elphaba drawled in a fake accent. "A masterpiece!"

"I won't accept taunts from the Narnians now." Glinda whirled around and accidentally caught Elphaba's sleeve with her brush. "Oh, Elphie! I'm sorry!"

Elphaba looked down at the grey stripe on her shirt. "That's alright." But she took her brush and made her own yellow mark on Glinda's arm.

Glinda gasped, grabbed her pallet and chased after Elphaba. Jillian painted Ariana's hand with blue and Ariana rubbed the blue all over Jillian's dress.

"Elphaba, Elphaba come out, come out wherever you are!" Glinda called, peeking around a corner. She didn't notice Elphaba coming up behind her.

Until Elphaba sprung and pressed her palm to Glinda's cheek. Glinda tried to smudge the paint off her cheek, but Elphaba stopped her hand. In the reflection of the window across the room Glinda saw the green heart imprinted on her face.

* * *

><p>"There's something about tonight," Fiyero said softly. "I don't know what it is, but it just seems kind of nice, doesn't it?"<p>

Elphaba stood beside him watching the snow fall to the ground. She stayed silent for a bit. "It's one of those nights when you need somebody there."

Fiyero looked down at her. He was about to leave, but he didn't want to leave her on that note. "Elphaba..." But at this point, words seemed cheap. So he leant down and pressed his lips to her cheek.

Elphaba stiffened, but then she took his hand and held it, letting the beauty of the moment wash over her. "Fiyero," she breathed, "will you stay tonight?"

Without answering, Fiyero pulled her into her room and they fell back and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Fiyero," Elphaba whispered finally, as if it was so private that she herself should barely be able to hear it. "What was your dream?"

Fiyero pondered the question. "I don't know what you mean."

"Before all of this happened. Before you grew up. What was the one thing you wanted to be? The one thing that meant more to you than anything else."

Turning his head, Fiyero regarded Elphaba. "I didn't have one."

"Everybody has one."

He sighed. "Promise me you won't laugh." He took a breath. "The one thing I always wanted to be was...an actor."

Elphaba laughed, but it wasn't cruel. It was soft and reassuring. "Fiyero, Fiyero, wherefore art thou, Fiyero?"

"Your turn," Fiyero rushed uncomfortably.

"I wanted to be an author."

"So what stopped you?" Fiyero asked carefully, realizing that he was treading on something more personal than he ever had with her.

"I realized..." Her voice wasn't discouraged, but flat. "I realized that not many people cared about what I had to say and moved on with my life."

"I would."

She glanced up at him. "What?"

"I would read every single word that you write."

"That means a lot to me," Elphaba said softly. Then she snapped out of her thoughts. "You know, I'm tired and cold. What do you say we hit the pillows?"

Fiyero agreed and went for the sheets.

"Wait!" Elphaba cried. "You can't go in my bed with your gross work clothes!" She was joking now, but it was fun to torment him.

"Then I'll freeze!"

Elphaba threw an extra blanket at his head. "Over the covers, chump."

Unfolding the blanket, Fiyero placed it on the bed and then started unbuttoning his top. He noticed Elphaba watching him intently. "You don't mind if I- you know...just the shirt. I don't want to ruin it."

Elphaba blinked. "Oh! Go ahead! It's not like there's anything under there I haven't pictured." Her voice dropped a few notches. "Not to mention the bottom half."

Fiyero stared at her blankly.

"Kidding!" Elphaba pressed her chin into her shoulder. "...nope."

Pretending not to hear that last bit, Fiyero rolled onto the bed and laid on his back, folding his hands over his bare chest and twiddling his thumbs.

Elphaba rolled onto her side and propped herself up onto one elbow. She figured she looked pretty outrageous in her baggy yellow t-shirt, but technically he was the one trespassing and all was fair. "So when did you get those?" She pointed at the tattoos his chest. She noticed his mischievous smile. "And I'm _not_ talking about your abs."

"When I was sixteen. It's a ritual in the Vinkus."

"They're very nice."

"Thank you."

The next statement out of her mouth shocked Fiyero. "Would you like to see mine?"

Fiyero's mouth fell open. "Your what?"

"My tattoo," she replied casually. "It's not anywhere bad or anything." She pushed herself onto her knees and turned around, so her back was to him. Lifting up her shirt slightly, she showed Fiyero the little purple butterfly etched onto her lower back.

Fiyero sputtered for a moment. "_You_ have a tramp stamp!"

She rolled her eyes. "No, it's one of those rub on ones," was the sarcastic retort.

"Do you know what those mean?" He demanded.

"Goodness, gracious." She laughed. "I just thought it was pretty. And I wanted to aggravate my dear old daddy a bit. You know...the one I thought was my dad. Not the Wizard. Even though rebelling against him is fun too." She waited a second to gage his reaction. "Don't look at me like that! I'm sure you had a rebellious phase too!"

Fiyero couldn't argue. "I got expelled from nine different schools."

"See? A little rebellion should be encouraged in young kids!"

"Stay away from my daughters," Fiyero joked and then laughed. "You were in the Rebellion too, weren't you?"

Elphaba winked at him. "I can't give all of my secrets away in one night, can I?" She rolled down her shirt. "But I have a piercing too."

"Are you going to show me that one?" He asked in amusement, maybe a little hopefully as well. But Elphaba shook her head. "Why not? Is it somewhere I shouldn't be seeing?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Elphaba flopped back against her pillow.

Fiyero shook his head. "You are the most...I don't even know...you are _one of a kind_."

"Because I have a tramp stamp?"

"Because of everything you do!" Fiyero laughed. "It's so confusing and sweet Oz...I would love to be like you, Elphaba."

"I don't know what you're getting at."

"You don't care that people give you those looks. You don't care that a tattoo labels you a slut. You don't care about where you work, what you drive, where you show your face. You don't care about any of it."

"But I do care." Elphaba settled back into the covers. "No one's exempt from self-consciousness."

"You don't show it."

"Don't be worried about what others think of you, Fiyero," Elphaba said softly. "You're better than all of them."


	9. C'est la Vie

**Hey, everyone! Long time, no read!**

* * *

><p>"Surprise!" Elphaba waved a paper in front of Fiyero's face.<p>

"What's that?"

"It's a surprise!" _Duh._

Fiyero tried to grab the paper, but Elphaba pulled it out of his reach again.

"I don't want you to overreact." She taunted him again. "Promise me you won't overreact."

"What is it?" Fiyero's eyes followed the paper.

"It's your audition schedule."

"WHAT?"

Elphaba grinned. Good thing he didn't promise not to overreact. "The theatre down the street is putting on a production of Snow White. I thought you might want in on that, so I signed you up."

"No, I do _not_ want in on that," Fiyero said tightly. Was it normal to be so mesmerized and so infuriated by someone at the same time?

"Why not?" Elphaba demanded.

"Because that is so embarrassing!"

"That's why you didn't become an actor?" Elphaba exclaimed incredulously. "Come on, Fiyero! You won't be alone. I'm doing it too." For good measure, she waved the paper around again.

"Please, go tell them I'm not doing this," Fiyero pleaded.

"You are doing this, Fiyero," Elphaba decided sternly. "Because it's not for everyone else, it's not for me, it's for you. I promise you will get something out of this and if you don't then you've got one freebee and I will do one incredibly humiliating thing."

"Will you stand at the street corner and preach about the Wizard's reign being the end of the world?"

"February of seven years ago. Been there, done that," Elphaba said flatly. "Try another."

Fiyero grinned deviously. "Go into the Hozister boutique on the corner and argue with that mannequin in the front window."

"I like that one. So we have a deal?" Now Elphaba was disappointed, that was a good dare, but she was going to win this bet for sure.

"I feel like I might lose this bet," Fiyero admitted, as if he read her mind.

"Then you'll get something good out of doing the play." Elphaba fixed him under her gaze. "This is win/win for you, Fiyero."

"You know what? Fine."

Elphaba offered a hand to shake, but instead Fiyero wrapped his arms around her and drew her into his chest.

* * *

><p>The director listened to them sing. Fiyero went first and Elphaba watched from the side of the stage. It was obvious that Fiyero was going to get the part of the prince. He had it down pact. When he was finished he joined her behind the curtain.<p>

"What did you think?"

"I think you have a wonderful voice. You've got the part," Elphaba said honestly. "Now, was that so hard?"

Ignoring the question, Fiyero continued, "Are you nervous?"

"Not at all. I'm excited actually." Elphaba smiled. "Can't you see me as the villain?" She threw her head back and cackled. "From here on out Snow White is my bitch."

"Someone has a lot of confidence in her evil abilities."

"It's what makes me such a villain," Elphaba said lowly. "Don't pretend you don't love it." She walked out onto the stage.

As Elphaba sang, Fiyero felt a rush of warmth. She had a beautiful voice. It wasn't perfect, but it was good and she handled it well. His cheeks flushed and he watched her intently. All he could think about was joining her on stage and melding their voices together. It took all he had not to.

* * *

><p>After the painting experience, Elphaba convinced Glinda that trying new things was more exciting than sitting alone at home. It took some time though. Glinda didn't like going outside. There were people out there. So Elphaba signed them up for one of the classes offered at the community centre near her apartment building. With some reluctance, Glinda agreed to come. She wasn't particularly interested in learning a new language, but learning it with Elphaba seemed much more rewarding.<p>

Qua'ati was a strange language and not many people knew or cared for it. However the only other option was Vinkun and Elphaba was pretty sure that Glinda had had enough of the Vinkuns for a while.

Glinda sat at the table and focused on Elphaba. They both were getting looks. For once she didn't feel so alone. "I already know Qua'ati," she giggled. "Bonjour!"

"Comment ça va?" Elphaba replied, stretching her legs out under the desk.

"What?" Glinda stared at her blankly.

"It's a good thing we're taking this class then. Oz forbid you ever got stranded in Quadling Country," Elphaba said happily.

"Ugh. Class."

"What's wrong? Did Glinda Upland not like school?"

"Glinda Upland was _Galinda Upland_ back then." Glinda blew a wisp of hair out of her eyes. "And she did _not_ enjoy school at all." Her eyes went unfocused. "And yet, I would give anything to change my name back and enrol in university again."

"Tell me about it. I wish I could go back to my mother's womb and tell myself never to come out," Elphaba reminisced. "But then of course it would get slightly crowded by the time Nessa would pass through. And then Shell on top of us." She shuddered.

"Giving birth to one is hard enough, trust me." Glinda laughed. "Giving birth to one, while your husband is running around pulling his hair out is even harder."

Elphaba smiled brightly. "You're a survivor."

"Indeed, I am."

Their conversation was cut short when the teacher entered the room, speaking in rapid Qua'ati.

"Bet you're not so knowledgeable now, hot shot," Glinda muttered to Elphaba.

"I swear to Oz this was the beginner class," Elphaba mumbled and fumbled through her bag for the receipt.

They listened to the teacher ramble and tried to catch a few words. It was non-stop until the teacher paused and looked at the class expectantly. Most people turned to the person beside them and began talking.

"What are we supposed to do?" Glinda asked.

"I think that translated roughly to 'have a conversation in Qua'ati,'" Elphaba explained. Except she wasn't translating, she was observing.

"Now we're going to look so stupid!" Glinda looked around. "Look, there, the teacher's coming! Say something in the language!"

"Why do you care so much what they think?"

Glinda glared at Elphaba, willing her to say at least one stupid word.

Elphaba searched her limited vocabulary and watched Glinda look around worriedly. She couldn't wrap her head around it. Glinda was the most well known in the room and by far the most beautiful. Her thoughts were disturbed again when Glinda turned back and urged Elphaba to say something. "Je t'aime," Elphaba blurted as the teacher walked by.

He eyed the two warily and walked away again.

"What does that mean?" Glinda asked bewilderedly.

"It means...I love you." For a moment Glinda stared. Elphaba was worried she was going to react badly, but her stare slowly curved into a smile.

"Moi aussi, je t'aime."

* * *

><p><strong>I've been taking french since kindergarten and that pretty much stretched my vocabulary. Rude awakenings suck, don't they?<strong>


	10. Snow Green

**Okay, I have a logical explanation for why Oz has Snow White that I forgot to mention in the last chapter. When the Wizard arrived in Oz and took over, he was too lazy to come up with his own fairytales, so he used Walt Disney's. Of course, they couldn't be called "Disney" anymore. Now it's Wizney. This is also my explanation for Wizneyland in my other story "What Stays & What Fades." There you have it folks, the Wizard is even worse than we thought. (I apologize if anyone is a fan of the Wizard. If you are then you can commend him on his clever conniving.)**

* * *

><p>The next morning Elphaba sat up and reached for her phone. It had been going off like crazy. Somehow Jillian had found a way of setting the most annoying ringtone. One Jillian had technological skills equivalent to four Elphabas. "Hello," she said groggily.<p>

"Good morning, Princess, I have news for you."

Glaring at the phone as though it was the guilty one who was calling her, Elphaba warned, "I swear to Oz, Fiyero. If you ever call me that again-"

"I'll have to call you that again though." Fiyero laughed; doubling her annoyance but interrupting her threat.

Elphaba matched his laughter with a groan. "It's too early for me to be dealing with you." She was so close to hanging up on him and his eternal good mood.

"I don't know whether you're going to be amused or disappointed. Or angry," he thought out loud.

"What?" She demanded. Morning people were officially her pet peeve.

"You didn't get the part of the Witch."

"Oh, so I'm a villager?" Elphaba laughed hollowly. "Boo hoo, too bad, so sad." She pulled the covers up to her chin and snuggled down into the pillows comfortably.

"You got a bigger part than you bargained for," Fiyero hinted.

"Oh no." Elphaba bolted upright.

"Oh, yes."

"I wanted to be the Witch!" She cried.

"But Snow White is the main role!" Fiyero reasoned.

"It's Snow White, not Snow Green!" Elphaba practically yelled. "Snow Green doesn't get the prince, she gets the pitchforks!"

"I can think of one prince you'll be getting," he replied mischievously.

Elphaba paused for a second before continuing her rant. Then she realized what he had said. "You got the part? I knew it!"

"Fine, go ahead. Say it." He sighed. This was never easy.

"No, I want to save it."

"Nope. It's now or never."

Elphaba took a deep breath. "I TOLD YOU SO!"

* * *

><p>Fiyero and Elphaba spent their time rehearsing and looking over scripts. It was difficult, but they managed to be on time for every rehearsal. Afterwards they went out for dinner or to a movie. Nobody said anything, but all of the other actors and stagehands were sure they were a couple. Maybe Fiyero and Elphaba knew it, but neither of them denied it.<p>

There wasn't much acting on Fiyero's part. He was the handsome Prince Charming, professing his love for the beautiful princess.

Elphaba on the other hand was getting more and more unsure.

"Fiyero," she started one night after rehearsal. She had been unusually quiet during their dinner. "I think I'm going to drop out on this thing."

"Why?" Fiyero mouthed. He already knew she was feeling uncomfortable with it.

Using the leftover carrot on her plate as a distraction to avoid his eyes, Elphaba admitted, "I can't do it. I can't act like that."

"But where's the acting involved?"

"Skin white as snow?" Elphaba's tone was lower and less sure than usual.

"You don't need that to be fairest in the land," Fiyero said softly.

"I kind of do." Elphaba avoided his eyes. "No one is ever going to buy into this whole stupid...charade. It's a joke!"

"The only person who has to believe you are the fairest is the prince," Fiyero continued, "and the prince does."

* * *

><p>Fiyero paced back and forth, as Elphaba set the crown of flowers on her head. "I can't do this."<p>

"Don't worry," Elphaba said affectionately. "The audience is only children and sexually frustrated soccer moms. You'll be fine."

"Tell me again how you sucked me into this." He fidgeted with his hands, so she couldn't see them trembling. If she did, Fiyero was sure he would never live it down.

Elphaba wiggled her fingers. "A little potion in your coffee." She listened for her cue and when she heard it she began to leave.

Fiyero caught her by the hand and kissed her cheek.

"You'll be amazing," she reassured him.

"You _are_ amazing," he replied.

* * *

><p>They had been through everything a million times, except for one crucial element. One that neither Snow White, nor Prince Charming were particularly looking forward too.<p>

The kiss.

It seemed that the director had assumed that Fiyero and Elphaba were regular kissers. Or maybe he was waiting to see what would happen if they explored their passion for the first time themselves. Believability played a big role in that decision.

Either way, Fiyero stood at the casket and saw his princess waiting to be woken. He felt that he shouldn't be so eager to go after another woman...but this was Elphaba. She was so different and so perfect and so beautiful. The only thing holding him back was...well that was it. Without Glinda, there was nothing holding him back anymore.

So he knelt down; moving slowly and cautiously. He put one hand over her folded hands and watched her purse her red lips. His only consolation was knowing that she was as afraid as he was. He was stalling. Everyone was waiting. He was waiting. She was there. In that crown of flowers. His princess. Only his.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

And it was wonderful.

And it was beautiful.

He felt secure and edgy at the same time. It was like the whole world had stopped and was waiting for them. Either it did or Fiyero just didn't care anymore.

Then he pulled away and Elphaba sat up in her casket. The dwarves danced around and chattered happily. The audience cheered. And she blinked. And she stared at Fiyero.

And he stared at her.

Then he drew himself up straight, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again.

* * *

><p>"That second kiss was too hot for a kid's story," the director scolded them afterward. "And I don't even remember that being in the script."<p>

"My apologies, sir." Fiyero stared at his feet. Elphaba was beside him; still wearing her costume and that confused look in her eyes.

"Don't apologize!" the director exclaimed. "Did you hear the audience?" He walked off to lecture some of the misbehaving dwarves and Fiyero was forced to face Elphaba.

"I'm so-"

"You heard him. Don't apologize." She was facing him, but she wasn't looking at him. "As long as you don't regret it and I don't regret it then there's nothing to feel sorry about." She shrugged. "It was just...a surprise, that's all."

"I didn't mean-"

"You meant it, Fiyero," Elphaba interrupted knowingly. "And I kissed you back. I meant it too. It's done and you are not going to deny it!"

"I wasn't denying it! I kissed you because..."

"Because?"

"I have...really strong...really scary...feelings for you, Elphaba." He sighed. That was not exactly how he wanted to inform her. It was supposed to be romantic. "But I don't want to put you in that position."

Elphaba stared at the floor of the stage and pulled the flowers out of her hair. "I'm going to go change. Will you wait for me?"

Fiyero nodded and followed her to the dressing room. He waited just outside the door, having already changed. When she emerged he strode up to her and took her hands.

She looked up into his sapphire eyes. "You lived your dream, Fiyero." The smile on her face was contagious.

"Only because of you."

Blushing, Elphaba's gaze dropped to her feet. "Should we go celebrate?"

"Actually, Elphaba...I think I'm going to spend the next few days by myself. I want to figure things out."

"I understand," she replied quietly. "I was actually going to take a few days for me as well."

Sudddenly, he panicked. "But it's not the end."

Elphaba shook her head. "It's a beginning."

* * *

><p>It was amazing how quickly and profoundly Elphaba felt Fiyero's absence. She wanted him to tease her when she watched television and to lie beside her at night. And he wouldn't be there the next morning waiting with the passenger door open, willing to take her across Oz and back as long as she was happy.<p>

Without Fiyero, Elphaba felt lonely. She hadn't realized that she had been so lonely before, but now going back felt angry and uncomfortable and impossible to survive.

It was three o'clock in the morning when Elphaba couldn't handle it anymore. She reached for her phone and dialled.

"No, I really don't want to go to school yet," a groggy voice mumbled on the other end of the line. Even thick with sleep, the voice was high and perky.

"Glinda," Elphaba breathed, "I need a friend right now."

Glinda yawned and seemed to get more of a grip on herself. "Elphie? Of course. Anything."

"I'm not feeling well."

Immediately, Glinda readied herself to spring into action. "Do you want some soup or something?"

"Not like that," Elphaba explained, "I've never felt like this before. It hurts."

"Where?"

"In my heart."

"Elphie I don't know how to treat a heart attack," Glinda said worriedly. "If there's a spell, I'll do it. Just tell me."

"No, Glinda." Elphaba felt overwhelmed and emotional. "I wish you were here right now."

Glinda paused and then seemed to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "You're not alone, Elphie. Just listen to me and imagine I'm right there."

"Why?"

"It makes you feel better." Glinda hesitated and then admitted, "When I'm alone I imagine you're here with me. You're always there for me."

Elphaba rolled over and imagined Glinda was sitting on the other end of the bed, overdressed as usual and babbling on about the irritating girl on the Council of Magic. "Thank you," she whispered into the phone. "And Glinda?"

"Yes?"

"I'm leaving for a few days tomorrow. To Munchkinland to see my sister."

Glinda cried out. "Oh no, Elphie, you can't leave!"

"I want you to come with me. I want you to meet her." Elphaba smiled to herself.

"Oh!" Elphaba could tell Glinda was smiling too. "Elphie, I'd love to!"

"Sweet dreams, Glinda," Elphaba said softly.

"Je t'aime."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Fiyero went by Elphaba's apartment. He hated himself for what he said to her. If he had to go another night without seeing her, he wouldn't be able to handle it. Knocking on the door, he waited a few minutes and then called her phone. It went to voicemail.<p>

She hated him, he decided. She would never want to see him again. He had screwed up everything and there was no one to tell. A neighbour walked by and noticed Fiyero standing there.

"She's in Munchkinland for a bit, told me to water her plants."

Fiyero thanked the old woman and went on his way. When she said she was taking a few days for herself, he didn't think she meant leaving the Emerald City. He didn't want to think about waiting for her to get back. There were so many things he wanted to say.

_As long as you don't regret it and I don't regret it then there's nothing to feel sorry about._

Maybe she felt it. There had been something in that kiss. Something that wasn't in Glinda's kiss. Maybe she knew there was something there. So he went off to work with a new hope building inside of him.

As he sat down in his office, he listened absentmindedly to one of Avaric's tales of nights previous until it was interrupted by the postman, who approached Fiyero and handed him a package.

Avaric leaned over the wall of his cubicle. "What's that?"

"I don't know." Fiyero lifted it up and looked all around the rectangular...whatever it was. There wasn't a return address. "This is weird."

"Maybe it's from a secret admirer," Avaric mocked. "But no one admires you. So it's probably a bomb." It was amazing how one man could link everything to either the Philosophy Club or explosives.

He ducked out of the way as Fiyero ripped the paper away and revealed a leather notebook.

"Yuck," Avaric commented, "a book." And turned away.

Lifting up the cover, Fiyero flipped through the notebook. There was handwriting on most of the pages. And at the end there was a fancy "THE END" scribbled. He turned back to the first page.

_I haven't thought of a title, but it's dedicated to you. Love, Elphaba._


	11. Meet the Thropps

**Ahhhhh! I had the biggest scare of my life today! My laptop wasn't starting and I thought I lost all of my stories, but I got it working. Phew. I was practically in tears. We're talking a Glinda-getting-fired-from-the-Council-of-Magic breakdown here. That's because I finished the longest story I've ever written on Saturday after an all night writeathon and I'm so proud of it! It's pretty much a 165 page Melena Thropp appreciation story because I think she's way cool. Anyway, because of my technology drama I'm posting so we can at least enjoy one chapter before this thing explodes on me. If I haven't posted for a week, please call Elphie and tell her she's going to have to solve this love triangle on her own.**

* * *

><p>"Nessa, this is Glinda," Elphaba said happily, gesturing to her sister.<p>

Glinda stepped forward and offered a hand to Nessa. "Hello, it's lovely to meet you. Although Elphaba's told me a trillion things about you. It's like we've already met."

"Likewise," Nessa said sweetly, shaking Glinda's hand. "I'm so glad Elphaba's _finally_ found a friend."

"Ahaha, you're so funny Nessa," Elphaba cut in.

Glinda took a seat across from Nessa and sllid sideways in her chair to face Elphaba. "She was only kidding."

"Oh no, the two airheads are ganging up on me," Elphaba teased. As an older sister and best friend, her duty was to keep them in their places. "I'm fighting a losing battle here."

Nessa ignored her. She was much more interested in the City of Emeralds than her sister's Attitude of Negativity. "So tell me about city life!"

"Glinda gets around the city a lot more than I do," Elphaba replied. "She's nearly head of the Council of Magic." Was it her or was she starting to sound a lot like Glinda bragging about her daughters? Parenting? _Gross._

"Really?" Nessa exclaimed. "I've been trying to get on that for months! The Munchkinland representative said I wouldn't be right for helping people with magic." She scoffed. "All I did was shrink my boyfriend's heart. Not that it could have gotten any smaller."

"I'll put in a good word for you," Glinda offered automatically. She had taken a liking to Nessarose. Maybe there was someone in Oz who had worse luck with men than she did. "It would be nice to have someone who isn't senile on the council."

Nessa smiled and fired off her next question straight away. "And how's therapy going?"

"I quit," Glinda and Elphaba answered at the same time.

Glinda blushed. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." She noticed Nessa's confused expression. "I was in therapy because I divorced my husband. We both took it very hard." It wasn't so difficult for her to explain anymore.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Nessa replied gently.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. Her skin was literally tingling from the false sentimentality and she scratched her elbows. "Of course you are."

So Nessa rolled her eyes too.

Glinda giggled. "I always wished I could have a sister." It had been at the top of her Lurlinemas wishlist for years. In fact, it still was, but the Stork just wasn't pulling through for her.

"Mine's for sale," Nessa and Elphaba replied at the same time. They exchanged a look. "Actually, she's free," they continued in sync. They exchanged another look.

"You two are so cute," Glinda stated. "I'm going to pack both of you into my luggage and keep you forever."

Nessa crinkled her nose. That would be awfully cramped. Then she exclaimed, "Elphaba's cute? Since when!" Just as Elphaba said, "You actually _want_ Nessa? There is a god!"

* * *

><p>"Who am I meeting next?" Glinda asked as they stood on a street corner. She wiggled her shoulders and looked around the intersection.<p>

Elphaba checked her watch. "Someone who's late."

"Elphaba!" A deep voice called from behind the green woman. "Got your wallet!"

Whirling around, Elphaba snatched her wallet back. "Shell, you annoying little-"

"Aw, your brother!" Glinda cried, pinching Shell's cheeks, even if he was over twenty years old. "Can I keep him too?"

"Oh, who's this? She looks rich!" Shell rubbed his hands together menacingly and a sudden gleam came into his green eyes. It wasn't that he wasn't well off. He still lived with his father and Nanny did all of his laundry. But he did have a knack for flaunting his ability to sneak around.

Elphaba introduced Glinda to Shell and they had coffee in a nearby cafe. She watched amusedly while Shell tried to explain the state of the economy to Glinda and Glinda pretended to understand. It was kind of cute.

And when Shell had to leave, Glinda started again. "Okay! Next?"

"There's no one else, Glinda!"

Glinda placed her hands on her hips. "Now I know you're lying. How about your daddy?"

"Oh no," Elphaba rushed, "not Frex." But Glinda bothered her until she gave in and took her to the house she grew up in.

Sitting across from Frex, Glinda watched Elphaba look around innocently. It must have been a while since she returned here. Glinda smiled to herself. The home of the Thropps was a cozy little cottage, nestled into one of the local Munchkin neighbourhoods. Sometimes Glinda wondered what it was like to grow up this way, since she herself had grown up in a mansion and was cared for more by servants than her own parents. It was because of this she liked seeing older parts of Elphaba's life, but she didn't like hearing Frex talk about only Nessa. Her original goal had been to learn some embarassing baby stories.

"Excuse me, sir," Glinda interrupted, "but you have_ two_ daughters. I asked you about _Elphaba_. Now, I know how it is. I favour one of my daughters, but I don't make it so blatantly obvious! Think about how Elphaba feels right now."

Elphaba snapped out of her trance and looked at Glinda in disbelief. She pulled the blonde up off the couch, before Frex started on the rant she could see forming in his mind. "Well, it was nice seeing you dad, bye!" And she left with Glinda before anything serious occurred.

However, Glinda froze outside the door; she wasn't going to let this drop as easily as Elphaba thought she would. "Elphaba! Why don't you stick up for yourself?" She demanded. It was already clear to her that no one had ever stood up for Elphaba to her father. And Elphaba was the guiltiest of that.

"It doesn't matter." Elphaba continued down the pathway and opened the quaint little iron gate at the front of the yard. With the tilt of her head she informed Glinda that she was going. Blonde in tow or not.

"Yes it does!" Glinda rolled her eyes. "There is no reason for him to be so open towards Nessa and so..._horrendible_ to you!"

Having put up with it for some thirty odd years, Elphaba didn't see the point of arguing over it. "I don't mind-"

"Well, you should!"

"He has his reasons," Elphaba snapped.

"That's like saying just because Jillian is blonder I like her more than Ariana!" Glinda cried. "You know that's not true! Not even_ I'm_ that shallow!"

"He treats us like that because I'm responsible for Nessa being in a wheelchair!" Elphaba blurted and then covered her mouth with her hands as though she had said something she shouldn't have.

Glinda stood there helplessly.

"My mom took some wacky thing when she was pregnant so Nessa wouldn't come out like me. It almost killed both of them," Elphaba explained. She had given too much away not to. But it didn't matter. She trusted Glinda.

"But that's not your fault!" Glinda retorted passionately. "That's not your fault at all!"

"Then whose fault is it?" Elphaba put her hands on her hips and waited for an answer. Preferably one that was logical.

"It's no one's!" Glinda stepped forward. "Things like that happen, Elphie. There's nothing we can do. And if your father deals with it like this then he's not much of a father, is he?"

Almost immediately, Elphaba dropped the argument and Glinda wasn't sure why. That didn't seem like Elphaba. "I have to make two more stops, Glinda. Will you come with me?"

"Of course." Glinda took Elphie's hand and then started off away from her old house and away from her childhood.

"So..." Elphaba said amusedly. "You favour Ariana?"

Glinda pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh! You didn't hear a thing."

* * *

><p>Elphaba's first stop was to a flower shop. She bought a bouquet of roses and kept them with her on their way to their next destination. When Elphaba came to a halt, it was by an old fence that Glinda was too petite to see over.<p>

Glinda had to peek inside through one of the knotholes in the wood when her curiosity got the best of her. "Oh no, Elphie, I don't think I want to go in there."

"Please, Glinda?"

There was a sadness in Elphie's voice that Glinda had never remembered hearing before. She relented and followed Elphaba into the cemetery. Hundreds of tombstones stood in rows, but Elphaba beelined for one near the front row and stood blankly in front of it.

By the time Glinda caught up, Elphaba had already laid down the roses and was staring at the name in the inscription.

Both of Glinda's parents were alive. All of her grandparents. All of her relatives. She had never lost anyone, but she remembered how empty she felt when Fiyero had left. And it was Elphaba's mother! Glinda called her own mother weekly and visited monthly. She couldn't imagine getting along without her. Searching through her mind for the right words, for the first time Glinda wished her brain wasn't so blonde. In there it was all rainbows, butterflies, princesses and happily ever afters. Maybe that meant she could settle for something a little more real than words.

So Glinda slid her arm around Elphaba's waist, pulling her in tight, and laid her head on Elphaba's bony shoulder.

"I miss her."

"I know, darling," Glinda crooned, "I know." She stroked Elphaba's hair comfortingly and Elphaba bowed her head down against Glinda's.

They weren't sure how long they stood there, but it seemed short. Finally, Elphaba pulled away. Glinda reached down and broke one of the roses off of its long stem. She pushed Elphaba's hair behind her ear and tucked the rose in. The contrast of the red and the black against the green was gorgeous to Glinda.


	12. SentiMENTAL

**Guess who got her laptop confiscated after her parents saw her exam results? Okay, got that one ready? Now guess who's secretly updating while no one's home! I can't believe I missed Valentine's Day! I wanted to express my love for you all because something miraculous happened...I passed 50 reviews and 10 faves! OMIOZ THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! You lovelies know just what to say in your reviews to get me all emotional. Every time I get a review I feel like Boq being acknowledged by Galinda. It's a wonderful feeling. HUGS AND KISSES AND HEARTS OH MY!**

* * *

><p>The next day Nessa invited Glinda and Elphaba to a formal party that she didn't want to attend alone, so Elphaba and Glinda spent the morning in the guest room getting ready. Poor Elphaba hadn't quite realized that every time Glinda said, "Five more minutes," it usually translated into another hour.<p>

"Do me up! Do me up! Do me up!" Glinda rushed excitedly.

"Is there a reason you're so hyper today?" Elphaba, at least, was back to herself after her breakdown at the cemetery. Even so, it seemed to have brought the two friends even closer together, so much that it didn't seem like friendship anymore, but something much more intimate. Friends; sisters; lovers; kindred spirits who understood inner pain perhaps a little better than the rest of Oz.

Glinda shrugged, but she was bouncing on her spot. "I don't know. I'm just happy to be here."

Elphaba tugged on the zipper of Glinda's dress and watched her sit on the bed and strap shoes to her feet. "Why do you wear such giant shoes?"

The blonde paused and looked down at her shoes. Way to make her feel self-conscious, Elphie. "Are you implying that I have big feet?"

"No," Elphaba chuckled, "just the bottoms." Which seriously looked like they could take someone's eyes out. But Elphaba decided not to mention that part.

"Isn't it obvious?" Glinda tapped the heel of her stiletto. "Because I'm short."

Elphaba pulled Glinda up. The petite blonde didn't go much higher than her shoulder. "But you're the tallest person I've ever met. Not to mention, you have the biggest voice I've ever heard. My hearing hasn't been the same since I met you." She dramatically covered her ears.

Giggling, Glinda stretched out her hand to Elphie's forehead and held it above her own at the same level. "I think that's much taller."

"You're only as tall as your heart will let you be."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"I don't think my heart is very tall then," Glinda said softly. Her eyes dropped to her bright red, orange, pink and blue toenails. Needless to say, she and Nessa had gotten a little carried away with the nail polish.

"On the contrary, I think you have the tallest heart." Elphaba held her hand high above her head. "Watch your head on the ceiling."

* * *

><p>Bored, bored, bored. No wonder Nessa had invited them. This was probably the most boring party Glinda had ever been to. And <em>that<em> was saying something. Elphaba was tapping her spoon against the table and beside her Nessa rolled her eyes at every person who attempted to talk to her. They really were adorable, Glinda thought.

Finally, Elphaba pushed her chair away from the table. "I can't take this anymore." She pulled Glinda up with her and started off towards the empty centre of the room.

"What are you doing?"

"It's a party. There's music. Let's dance." It was more order than offer, and fact than notion.

"You're outrageous!" Glinda cried, looking around her. She wasn't too pleased with Elphaba's tone either.

Elphaba took Glinda's dainty hand and twirled her around in a circle. "Because I want to have fun at a party? My goodness, you're a little judgemental, don't you think?"

Glinda shook her head. She could see exactly what was going on. "Don't you dare make me the bad guy here."

"I'm not." Elphaba's eyes sparkled. "I'm always going to be the bad guy, so quit worrying your pretty little head off."

Everybody was watching them now, but it wasn't in a judgemental way. Some people came to the edges of the dancefloor and took slow, timid steps forward.

"Everyone's following you, Glinda. And you're making them miserable by standing still," Elphaba observed. Glinda didn't realize just how influential she was.

Glinda took Elphaba's hand and spun her around. Elphaba looked surprised that Glinda was actually dancing with her and Glinda couldn't help laughing at the expression on her face.

So she kept laughing. And she kept dancing. And it was _so _much fun.

In many ways, Elphaba was a much better dancer than Fiyero.

* * *

><p>That night, Glinda felt a feeling of contentment course through her when Elphaba came to say goodnight. She didn't feel so afraid when Elphaba was around. There was some kind of impervious bubble that the green woman had gifted her with. The need for shyness was no longer present.<p>

Elphaba stood in the doorway and Glinda was in front of her. "Sweet dreams, Glinda. And thank you...for everything."

Glinda was slightly surprised. If anything she should be saying thank you to Elphaba. "Uh...I guess it was no problem."

"You need to give yourself more credit Glinda. You make it look so effortless." Elphaba wasn't making eye contact anymore. Her hands hung limply at her side and then started fidgeting with the sleeves of her plaid pyjama shirt.

"No, Elphie, that's what you do."

Elphaba smiled and then leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to Glinda's nose.

Glinda smiled deviously. "Elphie...you missed." And she kissed Elphaba's lips.

* * *

><p>Fiyero paced back and forth in front of the apartment door. Today was the day she was supposed to be back. He turned around when he heard the sound of keys behind him.<p>

"Don't tell me you've been standing there for four days."

"Nearly."

Elphaba grinned as she turned the key in the lock. "Good. You were able to make sure Morrible next door watered my plants properly."

"I think she stole your books," Fiyero joked. He hadn't been concentrating on Morrible enough to notice that she was even around.

"That's alright." Elphaba leaned her back against the door and turned to face him. "Those are probably the ones I stole from her a few years ago."

Fiyero raised his eyebrows.

"We had a bit of a rivalry for a while," Elphaba explained. She opened the door and slipped into her apartment. He followed. "So how was your week?"

"I got something a few days ago," he said mischievously.

Elphaba bit her lip and paused in the midst of sorting through her mail. Weren't piles of bills just so uplifting first thing in the morning? "Oh, was it nice?"

"I read it six times."

"I'm glad you liked it," she replied absentmindedly; maybe even a little shyly.

"_However..." _Fiyero continued, leaning against the couch. "I don't like the part where I die very much."

"So you caught the references." Her expression was unreadable.

"You didn't kill off Glinda. I didn't even think you knew her," he said innocently.

Elphaba poked his shoulder. "And that's why you leave the thinking to me."

Despite the fact that he wanted to keep his composure, Fiyero grabbed her hips and pulled her into his chest. "If you ever leave again, I'm going to go crazy."

"Bad time to tell you I'm going away for two weeks?" Elphaba mumbled into his shirt.

"WHAT?"

Elphaba laughed heartily. "Oh Oz, I love tormenting you." She caught his hand as it slid down her back. "No I'm not leaving. Where would I possibly go?"

"Knowing you. Anywhere."

* * *

><p>Fiyero and Elphaba lay on their backs on top of Elphaba's bed. Fiyero still wasn't allowed under the covers without proper pyjamas. Rules were rules. But it wasn't his fault. He <em>had <em>offered to go naked.

"I'm telling you," Elphaba argued, "I'm just a figment of your imagination."

"Oh, really? Then how can I feel your hand?" Fiyero squeezed her fingers.

She snorted. "That's how screwed up your mind is."

"Not buying it."

Elphaba turned her head to look him in the eye. "Okay. Well...then..." Her eyes got brighter as she thought of her idea. "I have the power to manipulate your whole world."

Fiyero chuckled, his lopsided grin not leaving his face. "I could have told you that one myself."

"See those little bumps on the ceiling?" Elphaba pointed upward. "Those are really stars."

"But they can't be."

"Excuse me._ I'm_ doing the manipulating here." She pulled her hand away, faking her irritability.

"The stars already came down years ago. They all followed their leader when she decided to drop out of the sky," Fiyero explained in an expert tone of voice. Even Elphaba had to hand it to him. He sounded fairly convincing.

"Who does that star think she is?" Elphaba demanded. "And when was that?"

A mischievous look crossed Fiyero's eyes. "How old are you?"

Elphaba laid her head back again and stared at her stars. "I'm deceiving you. I'm really ninety."

"Oh," Fiyero mused, "all those years of experience and not one man caught your interest."

"I'm afraid I've taken after my Nanny that way. You know, once she tried an eternal youth spell." Elphaba laughed fondly; remembering that day. To this moment it remained one of her and Nessa's favourites.

"And?"

"Let's just say she only got the eternal part."

They stayed silent for a moment until Fiyero cleared his throat. "I've been thinking-"

"I'll add a gold star to the bulletin board."

"But I already have a star," he protested and then stopped. He faked a cough. "And I...uh...I want to take her out."

"Who might this be?" Elphaba sounded serious. He wasn't sure if she was playing clueless or really was.

"You."

Elphaba's mouth formed an 'o.' "...what's the meaning of _out_?"

"On a date."

"I've never been asked that before," Elphaba admitted.

"Then I'll be your virgin experience," Fiyero laughed. That was Elphaba's line every time she tried something new.

Elphaba eyed him shrewdly. "Whoa there Tiger Tigelaar, I haven't answered yet."

"You get dinner for free," he tried. "You get to spend a night with me. You get to make me the happiest man alive."

"Those all sound very tempting...except for the happiest man alive part..." Fiyero shot her a look and she playfully hit him. "But don't you complain when you waste the money on a restaurant instead of a super-mega-ultra car wash and wax."

Fiyero bolted upright and turned to face her, ignoring the verbal attack on his beloved vehicle. The hope in his eyes was undeniable. "So that's a yes?"

"It's a reluctant yes," Elphaba replied evenly.

"That's all I needed."


	13. Hope My Boyfriend Don't Mind It

Elphaba wasn't particularly looking forward to this date, but now she was stuck with it. However, she couldn't lie to herself anymore. She had practically been dating Fiyero...or just playing him. Was she playing Glinda too? No! She stomped her foot as she fought back the horrible thought and the person in the elevator beside her shifted slightly closer to the wall.

Since she would be staying with Glinda on Lurlinemas, she had agreed to see Fiyero the night before for their date. He told her he'd be waiting in the lobby, but when the elevator door slid open, he wasn't there, so Elphaba went to sit on one of the couches to wait.

After ten minutes she checked the time impatiently and looked around again. She swore that if he didn't show up soon she wouldn't speak to him for a week...and then repeated the whole process two more times. Crossing her legs, she huffed and then crossed them the other way before picking up the book on the table that was left for people who had been stranded. Much like herself.

When she opened up the cover, a small note fluttered to the ground. Elphaba bent down to pick it up and couldn't help reading it.

_Clue #1: Your version of these had me under its spell. You've been selling them since you quit work as a rebel._

Elphaba scanned the lobby. There were only two other people in the vicinity. And they definitely had never been rebels. Could the clue be for her? It must. Fiyero wouldn't just forget about her. He had sounded so excited over the phone.

She couldn't help herself. A smirk broke out. Leave it to Fiyero to plan something so absurdly, nonsensically...sweet. Elphaba hopped up off the chair and bolted out the door, down the street towards her bookstore.

Pulling out her ring of keys, Elphaba unlocked the door and pushed her way inside. She had locked it up for sure. How the hell did he get in? Glancing around, Elphaba realized there were hundreds of books he could have hid the next clue inside of. But there had to be some kind of meaning behind it, so Elphaba started at the back where the authors' last names began with 'Z' and worked her way forward.

...Y.

...X.

...W.

None of them seemed to be working. She kept pulling out books and flipping through pages. Finally, Elphaba came to the 'T' section and noticed a book that hadn't been there earlier.

Elphaba pulled it out and a sticky note was on the cover.

_Untitled; Thropp, Elphaba._

Opening up the notebook she had written her story in, Elphaba found another sheet of paper.

_Clue #2: Towers and lights; gives the city a glow. While you're there you'll be able to tell daddy hello._

At first Elphaba couldn't decipher that one, but as soon as she locked up the shop and looked into the distance she snapped her fingers. There was one thing that could light up anyone's night: the Palace of the Wizard and there's only one way you can get into Wizomania to say hello to the Wizard; and that's a ticket.

Sure enough there was a note blowing in the wind, held to the window of the ticketbooth by tape. Elphaba tilted her chin up to see the emerald glow of the palace above her. It was mesmerizing, but might have been a little better if someone was there enjoying it with her. So she ripped off the note and read it eagerly.

_Clue #3: It's cold out here, so take my advice: a cup of coffee might break the ice._

Slightly irritated, Elphaba headed back the way she had come. A cup of coffee might actually be welcome right now. The snowflakes on her eyelashes were distracting and her wool mittens and hat just weren't cutting it against the cold.

And she was more than sure there was one coffee shop that meant a little more to Fiyero than any other.

The bell rang as she stepped inside and she noticed a steaming styrofoam cup sitting on top of a napkin at the table he had once sat at. She hoped she was almost near the end now. No matter how much she was enjoying this, she wanted to see him...see that bright, lopsided grin.

_Clue #4: You're almost there, don't get lazy. Look to the doctor's office of the crazy._

That one was the most obvious. Out of all of the people who were considered crazy, Elphaba might just be one level above them. She set off towards the office of her former therapist.

The clue was out in the open, taped to the chair that Elphaba had claimed when Glinda was in her session the first time she had met Fiyero. Slightly relieved by the temporary warmth of the office and not concerned with the looks people were giving her. Elphaba stood in the middle of the room and read her last clue over a few times.

_Clue #5: Lions, tigers and bears in the Central City. You're about to find your favourite pretty._

Clearly it was somewhere in the middle of the city...and it had animals...and hopefully her favourite pretty was there waiting for her too. Maybe Fiyero was at the zoo? It was worth a shot. Elphaba caught the next bus to the Central City Zoo and went to the front gates. The clerk took one look at her and told her to go right through; she'd been paid for already. But before Elphaba went through the gate, she was given a map of the zoo.

In red permanent marker, a heart was drawn around the lion exhibit.

_The heart marks the spot._

Elphaba ran in the right direction, occasionally looking down at the map for reference. It was cold and she was entirely alone, seeing as no one went to the zoo at night in this weather, but she didn't care. She just kept running.

Finally she got to the lion exhibit. There were two grumpy lions lying on a rock under a heat lamp and that was it. She looked around for a piece of paper taped to a tree...a book...anything, but nothing. Stepping back, Elphaba took inventory of the whole thing and momentarily felt like she could cry.

And then arms slipped around her waist from behind and gentle lips whispered, "Surprise."

Elphaba whirled around, grabbed the collar of Fiyero's leather jacket and crushed his lips to hers.

* * *

><p>"I have to hand it to you, Tigelaar. You know how to bring out the best and worst in a girl," Elphaba admitted, pulling her legs closer so they rested beside her on the picnic blanket. Fiyero had set it up around the corner of the lion exhibit in the shelter of a group of trees.<p>

Fiyero smiled and kissed her cheek. Elphaba leaned into it and then watched him. His nose was red from being outside so long and his hair was rumpled by the wind, but he still looked incredibly perfect. "Well, after dealing with Oz's greatest ice queens, I consider myself an expert on the female mind."

Elphaba's face fell. For whatever reason she didn't want Glinda mentioned at this point. "You, of course, refer to Glinda and I."

The look of confusion on his face was immediate. "I actually meant my daughters."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She blushed. Maybe it was because Glinda was on her mind, so Elphaba decided to change the subject. "I wasn't expecting so much thought to go into this."

"I see you almost every day. I wanted this to be special."

"It was."

"You don't know how much that means to me." Fiyero slipped back onto the blanket and rested his head in his hands; looking up at the stars and the quarter moon. Elphaba did too. "I like full moons better," he declared.

Elphaba snorted. "That's because society teaches us to like what's wholesome. I think there's something distantly beautiful about this one." She fell silent; a victim of her thoughts. "It's so easy to think the only aspects of our lives are the ones we live day to day." She chuckled. "We'll never even know if there's a man on the moon watching our every move, mocking our stupidity."

"That's wouldn't be very nice of him," Fiyero said light-heartedly.

"Don't talk about the Man on the Moon. He's all knowing." Then she added, "And he's laughing at your ignorance right now." She sighed contentedly and caught his attention. He tried to turn back to look at the constellations, but he couldn't. Not when he had his favourite star beside him. Before he knew it, he had rolled over and was playing with her snowflake covered hair.

"So what's the reason behind your choosing the lions for our, oh so romantic meeting?"

"You should know that already, Elphaba Lionheart."

She shook her head. "I'm having kind of an off day."

"Hands touch...eyes meet..." His eyes sparkled. "Sound familiar? Chapter nine of my favourite book."

"More like the only book you've ever read." Elphaba watched him for a minute, then nudged him in the ribs playfully and pushed him over.

Fiyero blew a snowflake away from his face discouragingly. "The abuse I take from you." But it wasn't long before Elphaba rolled onto her side, not facing him. She stayed like that for a few moments until Fiyero rolled over and curled an arm around her hips.

Then Elphaba pelted him in the face with a snowball and ran off.

* * *

><p>For the first time, Fiyero took Elphaba to his apartment to change things up. They were freezing so he strode over to the thermostat and turned the temperature considerably higher.<p>

Elphaba walked around cautiously. The apartment was so boring, so untouched. "Is there a reason you were the one who moved out?" She asked; not to bring up old pains, but out of curiosity.

Fiyero shrugged, but she could tell he tensed. "I wanted to have my own bachelor pad again," he joked hollowly.

She ran her finger along the edge of the table in the kitchen and then picked up one of the dolls Jillian had left for when she was staying with her father. "Oh yes, very manly. This must attract all the ladies." She turned to look at the next thing, but Fiyero caught her by the waist and then by the lips.

He lifted her up onto the counter, not breaking contact and ran his hands through her raven hair, sending tingles to places Elphaba didn't know existed. He leaned forward and kissed her deeper. Lips...tongue...fingers. Elphaba was drifting in and out of coherence. His hands were at her waist. Stroking, caressing, reaching for the skin there.

Elphaba pulled away to give herself a chance to calm down, but he took the opportunity to lavish her neck and jaw with continuous, exhilarating kisses.

Oh yes, Elphaba thought, she was definitely drawn to Fiyero romantically.

* * *

><p>"I don't know, Glinda." Elphaba glanced around warily at the high ceiling, the arches, the golden things around the room that she didn't know the significance of. "I've never felt so out of place in my life. And <em>that's<em> saying something."

Glinda's laugh rang out and caused the people around them to shoot her a look. She blushed. "It's just church, Elphaba."

"This isn't just church." Elphaba looked around one more time. This time at the people. "This is like...rich people heaven." She stood up. "I'm going to wait outside."

"Take me with you!" Jillian cried, jumping up beside Elphaba.

Glinda pulled both of them down into the pew. "You're both going to stay right here until the mass is finished. Goodness gracious, I don't particularly enjoy it either but it's Lurlinemas and it's only an hour of your time!" She was scolding Elphaba, as much as her daughter.

"I'm not comfortable being here, Glinda," Elphaba suddenly burst out. Her desperation was clear.

"Too late," Ariana threw in deviously.

Sure enough, the Lurlinist priestess was making her way down the centre aisles. Elphaba's eyes followed the procession all the way to the front.

"Elphie," Glinda whispered, leaning her head closer to Elphaba. "Haven't you ever been to a mass?"

"Glinda, I've been an atheist since the age of fifteen." Elphaba took deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down, but she continued hyperventilating. "I shouldn't be here. It isn't right!"

"It's okay, Elphie!" Glinda reached for Elphaba's hand and clutched it in her own, but Elphaba was shaken. "Calm down!" Elphaba's sudden reaction was throwing her off.

Forcing herself back, Elphaba tried to pay attention, but she felt guilty. It was a Lurlinemas mass and all around her were the good little patrons, worshipping their goddess, while Elphaba was sitting beside her closest friend. Maybe more. Even while she had a date planned with the woman's ex-husband the very next day.

Of all of the things Elphaba thought she would be in life; of all of the things she was, she never ever would have thought she could play the two most amazing people she had ever met so easily.

And here was Glinda. Holding her hand. Whispering comforting things. In total oblivion, because that's what Glinda was. She saw good in everyone. Glinda Upland, in all of her blonde bliss was easily the kindest, most innocent person Elphaba had ever met.

At the end of her rope, Elphaba jumped up and ran out of the church, not caring who turned to watch her.

Elphaba was out of the room before Glinda's head even turned. But when it did, Glinda didn't hesitate in following her.

When she was out in the main hall, Glinda looked around for somewhere where Elphaba could be. Seeing as Elphaba had never been to church before, she was sure the only place she knew was the restroom because she had taken Jillian before the mass. Glinda pushed the door open and peeked around the corner. There was no one in front of the mirror, so she stepped inside.

Looking underneath the door of every stall, Glinda saw an unmistakable pair of black army boots in the last. She knocked on the door. "Elphie, let me in. I just want to talk." Her voice was as soft as she could make it. She wanted Elphaba to know that she was serious.

But there was no answer. And the silence was killing Glinda.

So Glinda Upland did something she was certain she would never do in her life. She went into the stall next to it, got down on her hands and knees and crawled underneath the wall separating the two stalls.

With a disgusted smirk, Glinda stood up with some difficulty and straightened out her skirt. "Really, the things I do for you, Miss Thropp." But when she looked up she saw that Elphaba was turned away from her with her head in her hands. Without thinking, Glinda slid her arms around Elphaba's waist and pressed her cheek into the green woman's bony shoulder.

"Relationships-" Elphaba mumbled something else unintelligibly. "...unstable. Why do you think I was in therapy?"

"Elphaba Thropp," Glinda murmured into her shoulder. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Don't say that Glinda. _Please_."

Glinda could tell Elphaba was crying. She felt her shoulders shaking and say the tears make their way down the sides of her cheek. "Ne pleure pas, ma chère." She paused for a moment and then exclaimed, "I hope I pronounced it properly! You understood me, right?"

"Perfectly," Elphaba said shakily. She turned around and wrapped her arms around Glinda. "I don't deserve you, Glinda. Why are you so good?"

"Nobody's perfect." Glinda tugged gently on Elphaba's hair. "Do you feel better now?"

"I don't know how I ever got anywhere without you."

Glinda tilted Elphaba's chin up and kissed her. "I love you, Elphaba."

Elphaba wiped away the last of her tears and then pecked Glinda on her cheek, at the corner of her mouth. "I love you too." She stepped back and looked around.

Glinda did too and she laughed. "I never thought I'd kiss someone in the washroom stall of a church." Let alone her being green. Let alone her being a her.

Unlocking the door, Elphaba stepped out and went to look at herself in the mirror. Glinda stopped behind her and pulled the raven hair behind Elphaba's shoulders. Suddenly, her face fell.

"What?" Elphaba asked, feeling insecure.

But Glinda wasn't thinking about Elphaba's appearance. "Elphie, don't you go telling people that Glinda the Good got down on her knees for you in a church washroom!"

Elphaba burst out laughing so hard that she had to support herself on the edge of the sink. "Oh Glinda, how did you read my mind?"


	14. One Witch, Two Fairytales

After mass, Elphaba accompanied the Uplands back to their penthouse apartment to exchange gifts.

"I'm still not sure I agree with this gift thing," Elphaba admitted. "I thought Lurlinemas was about religion."

Jillian shook her head. Her mouth was stuffed with the gingerbread witches they had made. "Id's...aboud...de...giftz...do."

"Oh I'm sorry then," Elphaba lied. "I forgot your gift." She pulled one out from behind her. "Here's Ariana's though!"

Ariana lunged forward and grabbed her gift. Jillian looked as if she were going to explode.

Elphaba pulled another gift out from behind her. She pretended to check the tag. "Oh, look! Here's one for mum!" She handed one off to Glinda who was watching the charade amusedly.

Finally, Elphaba pulled the third gift from behind her. Jillian's face lit up. "THAT'S MINE!"

"Hmm..." Elphaba scowled. "It's mine actually. I got myself a nice pair of thick, woollen socks."

"Then let _me_ open it," Jillian demanded. Unlike Fiyero, she was learning to see through Elphaba's tormenting.

"Fine." Elphaba handed over the package. "I hope you're not disappointed though."

Jillian tore at the paper. Ariana tore at the paper. Glinda tore at the paper, perhaps a little more savagely than her daughters.

Ariana was the first to get hers unravelled, as Elphaba had taken extra care to make them as difficult as possible. She got two dolls that Elphaba had remodelled. Instead of that standard Gillikinese look that all of the plastic toys had, Elphaba had painted one green and given the other one a Vinkun look, with Glinda's blue eyes. It looked like Ariana.

For Jillian, Elphaba got a few books, since she was just learning how to read, and a set of paints with all sorts of colours.

"Oh no! Elphie! You didn't!" Glinda held up the two plane tickets to Quadling Country and a _How to Speak Qua'ati for Blondes_ book, which Elphaba had compiled herself. "I don't think I can top this, but I'm going to try anyway." She handed Elphaba a little wrapped box with a bow on top.

Carefully, Elphaba tore open the paper and opened the box. Inside was a new phone...and it was much newer than her current one.

"So you can have something that's yours, not your sister's," Glinda explained. "It's an ozPhone 6. I spent three hours at the store waiting. But I got the first one for you, so you know it's the latest."

Elphaba stared at the phone confusedly. No one had ever been so thoughtful to her on Lurlinemas before. Her last Lurlinemas gift had been a macaroni picture from Nessa and Shell twenty-five years ago. She turned her eyes to Glinda's. "Thank you _so much_, Glinda," she said sincerely.

Glinda waved her hand airily, but she couldn't hide the blush that was creeping into her cheeks. "It was nothing."

"Our turn!" Jillian cried and jumped into Glinda's lap. Ariana handed her sister a card and she passed it to Glinda. When Glinda opened up the card, a crudely drawn little girl popped out and flopped downwards, but her arms were spread open, past the barrier of the card.

"_Mommy, we love you this much!" _Glinda read.

"I drew the snowwoman." Jillian pointed to a snowman with curly yellow hair in the corner and then leaned her head back against Glinda's chest.

Then Ariana surprised them all when she crawled into Elphaba's lap and handed her a card. Elphaba hesitated, feeling like an intruder, but she opened it. Inside of the card there was a drawing of five people.

_You can be part of our family forever. Love, Jill and Ariana._

The order of the people was obviously Fiyero, Elphaba, Glinda, Ariana and then Jillian. And they were all coloured green. For a moment, Elphaba was sure she was going to cry again, but she held it back. "Thank you," she murmured. She felt...no, she _knew_ that she didn't deserve this wonderful family. Fiyero and Glinda and their two beautiful daughters. But she loved them all too much to ever let them go.

* * *

><p>And then after dinner, the girls sat in front of the television watching old cartoon specials.<p>

"This is the best show I've seen since Galinda Arduenna," Elphaba said, watching the funny-nosed reindeer prance around the screen. He was lucky, at least it was only his nose.

Ariana and Jillian looked around bewilderedly. "Huh?"

Elphaba gasped. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHO GALINDA ARDUENNA IS?"

Ariana and Jillian exchanged a look and then shook their heads in unison.

"Glinda, I'm disappointed in you." She clicked her tongue. "That you would lie to your own children! It's despicable."

Glinda shook her head incredulously. "I haven't the slightest idea what's going on."

Elphaba leaned in towards Glinda's daughters. "Girls, your mother isn't telling you something. And it's something big."

They leaned in even closer.

"Ariana and Jillian Tigelaar, your mother Glinda Upland is not who she says she is. That's only her cover. Society mom by day-" she threw up her hands "-GILLIKINESE SUPERSTAR BY NIGHT!"

Glinda's jaw dropped. "What the he-"

"Your secret is out, Glinda," Elphaba said seriously, but a smile played at her lips. "There's no denying it."

"Alas-" Glinda threw her hand against her forehead, as if she would faint "-I have nothing else to live for."

"Tonight after you two are asleep, we're going to catch a plane to Gillikin," Elphaba confided. "She's playing the Pertha Hills."

"IT'S LIKE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!" Jillian cried in wonder.

"It is, isn't it?" Elphaba replied and then turned to Glinda expectantly.

Glinda noticed Elphaba staring at her. "What?"

"You're not going to give your girls a taste of the concert?"

"Oh no, I couldn't." Glinda shook her head. "No, no, no. It's a surprise."

"But they're not going to get to see it," Elphaba reminded.

"In that case..." Glinda smiled deviously. "Every superstar has an opening act, you know. So get up there!" She pointed at the open space in front of the Lurlinemas tree.

With a faked sigh, Elphaba started pulling off her boots.

"What are you doing?"

"Performing barefoot. It's how the pros do it." Elphaba pulled Glinda up with her. "Let's go!"

Glinda followed Elphaba reluctantly to their "stage," but Jillian stood in front of them, blocking their way with her hands on her hips. "I'm going to need some performer ID." Ariana stood up beside her with an expectant hand open for the ID.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS? YOU CAN'T TALK TO GALINDA ARDUENNA LIKE THIS!" Elphaba exclaimed.

"Ugh, Elphie, I'm going to lose it," Glinda joked.

"We can't let you go through without ID, ma'am," Ariana said sternly, but she was smiling.

Glinda scoffed. "I'm losing it."

"GALINDA ARDUENNA NEEDS NO ID! DO YOU NOT SEE THIS BLONDE HAIR? THAT IS ID ENOUGH!"

"I just lost it," Glinda decided.

"THIS DIVA NEEDS HER STAGE!" Elphaba cried hysterically.

Jillian eyed them suspiciously. "We'll have to test the hair."

Glinda cried out as Elphaba grabbed her wrist and pulled her down, so she was bending at the waist. "Take a good look," Elphaba instructed, keeping a firm hold on Glinda's wrist.

The blonde captive was nearly screaming in agony. "JILL, DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY HAIR!"

"We've never gotten to touch her hair before," Ariana said in wonder.

"Take a good feel then," Elphaba said lightly.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Glinda repeated. "ARIANA TIGELAAR IF YOU TAKE ONE STEP CLOSER-"

Ariana Tigelaar took one step closer and put her hand on Glinda's head. "It's so soft!" She cried in wonder.

Jillian felt it too. Then she knelt down and rubbed her cheek against her mother's hair. "It is!"

"Was that ID enough?" Elphaba asked.

Ariana nodded and pulled Jillian out of the way. Elphaba and Glinda made their way to their stage and performed for their private audience. Galinda Arduenna rocked out the show indeed, despite the fact that Elphaba was a massive stage hog.

* * *

><p>Glinda leaned over Jillian's bed and tucked the quilts around her with motherly care. Elphaba sat on the edge of the bed reading a story out loud. When everything was set Glinda bent over and kissed Jillian's forehead. "Goodnight, Jill."<p>

"I love you, mommy."

"I love you too."

Then Elphaba stood up and kissed Jillian's forehead as well. Jillian sighed in contentment at being kissed goodnight by two people again.

"Goodnight, Elphie."

"Sweet dreams, Jilly. Don't let the parasites bite."

But Jillian was already content in her dream realm and nothing could take her out of it, so Glinda shut the light and Elphaba closed the door. When they made their way to Ariana's room, Glinda went in and Elphaba lingered in the door.

Glinda repeated the process, but Ariana sat up and looked at Elphaba. "You can come in too." So Elphaba made her way in and stood beside Glinda. "Goodnight, mommy," the little girl said softly.

"Goodnight, Ari. I love you."

"I love you too."

Glinda left the room, but Elphaba waited. She had a feeling Ariana wanted her to. When she was sure Glinda was gone, Ariana pulled a card from under her pillow and handed it to Elphaba. "Will you give this to my daddy? You'll see him before me."

Elphaba didn't take the card. "I think it'll mean more coming from you."

"But I want him to have it close to Lurlinemas."

At a loss for words, Elphaba took the card and pushed it securely into her back pocket.

"Goodnight, Elphie. Thank you for the dolls. I like the green one the best. She's named Elphaba Lionheart."

"Goodnight, Ari. You're welcome." She smiled. "And that's a lovely name."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this?"<p>

"Absolutely," Fiyero said firmly.

"Alright then." Elphaba pushed her way into the bar and her eyes immediately landed on a group of four guys sitting near the front. The tabletop was already covered with glasses. She strode over to the table. "Hello, boys."

They all looked up.

"Who's this?" Avaric burst out.

"YOU BROUGHT A GIRL TO GUYS' NIGHT?" Boq shrieked.

"That's a girl?" Avaric snickered.

Elphaba laughed heartily. She already hated him. "I'm probably still more of a man than you anyway."

"Don't worry," Fiyero reassured her, "he's just jealous that you're standing with the most beautiful man in the room."

Avaric laughed. "I didn't know Beauty and the Beast were making an appearance tonight."

Elphaba's retort was to grab the shot glass in front of Avaric and down it in one swift move. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and set it down on the table. Everyone stared at her in shock. "Don't worry. I think I can survive guys' night out." In fact, she was sure a night with Fiyero's friends would be a hell of a lot easier than a night with Glinda's friends.

"I don't think so," Avaric scoffed.

Seating herself in between Avaric and Fiyero, Elphaba glared at Avaric. "And what makes us so different?"

"Lots of things," Avaric said simply, fingering an empty shot glass.

"Try me."

Avaric smiled arrogantly. "I go to the Philosophy Club twice a week. How many times do you go, Pumpkin?"

Elphaba laughed shrilly. "Honey, I _worked_ there for six months." She watched as Boq's, Crope's, Tibbett's and Avaric's mouths simultaneously dropped. "Yeah. I was the girl who whipped the-"

Fiyero clamped a hand over her mouth. "I don't think I want to hear this story."

Boq raised his glass. "To Elphaba!"

Crope, Tibbett, Fiyero, Avaric and Elphaba raised their glasses. "To Elphaba!"

After that, Elphaba fit seamlessly into their conversation; voicing her opinions clearly and making herself heard. Fiyero didn't say much, but he loved watching her. He stretched his arm out along the booth, just over her shoulders. When she got really worked up, she flushed slightly and started talking with her hands and when she was calm she relaxed and pressed herself back into his chest.

Eventually, Boq, Crope and Tibbett were drunk enough to start dancing in the middle of the bar at the request of Avaric, who went off to meet a group of giggly girls across from them.

Fiyero stayed silent until Elphaba turned to say something, but he stopped her and kissed her shoulder. "I love you."

* * *

><p>When Elphaba arrived home from work the next day, she sat on the couch and tried once again to figure out her new phone. She had had a terrible day and just wanted to relax with coffee and cartoons.<p>

She noticed a little "2" over the sign for the phone at the bottom of the phone screen and tapped it to see if she could make it go away. The phone told her she had two new messages and she didn't want to open them, but she did by accident.

"_Hi, Elphie! It's Glinda. I was up all night after you left on Lurlinemas and I couldn't sleep. I wish you had stayed over. I remember how happy I was when we went to see Nessa. So I thought...what if you kind of...stayed over permanently? I mean...ugh. I'm rambling. I'm so nervous. But Elphie, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to move in with me and the girls? I didn't really want to do this over the phone, but I guess I just did. Phone me back soon! Je t'aime."_

"_Elphaba, it's Fiyero. I don't want to be really pushy about this...wait. Pushy? No. That's not the word I wanted. Anyway, I'm kind of nervous. Can you tell? Because I have something to tell you. And however you react is perfectly okay. But it's like you said. My apartment needs some life. And you're the one who's been lighting up my life for as long as I've known you. Would you move in with me and the girls? I know it's crazy, but I love you, Elphaba."_

Elphaba stared down at her phone in shock. "Oz, have mercy on me."


	15. Dr Thropp's Advice

**I'm so glad you guys are getting my references! The name of the chappie two chapters ago was from a certain Katy Perry song. Now whenever I hear "I Kissed a Girl" I can't help but think Gelphie thoughts. And of course in the last chapter there was that reference to Maureen, because let's face it, Glinda was a diva who needed a stage. Elphaba was just pointing out the obvious. As well, Elphie took off her boots before her performance with Galinda Arduenna. Why am I reminded of barefeet...and symphonies...? Anyway, I'm getting a little emotional on this end because this story only has a few more chapters. On that sad note, have a great time reading!**

* * *

><p>"Glinda or Fiyero? That is the question." Nessa laughed slightly as she turned to her sister. "Only you, Elphaba."<p>

But Elphaba wasn't listening. She felt squirmy and uncomfortable and she had the ugliest feeling inside of her. Even if she said no to both of them, she realized that this couldn't go on forever. Someone was going to get hurt.

"Why don't you just move here?" Nessa suggested hopefully, interrupting her sister's thoughts.

For the first time in two days, Elphaba wiped the scowl off of her face and replaced it with a smirk. Nessa was a sneaky one. "Nice try, Nessa. I'm never coming back here."

Nessa crinkled her nose. "Well, I tried."

"But I need to know." Elphaba slumped forward and put her head in her hands. "I need to make some kind of decision. Even when I don't know what the hell kind of decision this is!"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Elphaba stared at Nessa blankly.

"Apparently not," she decided and fixed Elphaba under one of her patented soul-searching glares. "You need to fix _your_ problems before you fix theirs."

"Alright," Elphaba relented, "so tell me what my problems are."

"Well, firstly-" Nessa cut herself off and leaned back in her wheelchair "-Oz, I love playing the older sister." She caught Elphaba's aggravated expression. "Sorry. Well...you need to decide if you really want to live on your own anymore. Then you need to decide what you need. A friend, a sister, a boyfriend..."

Thinking for a moment, Elphaba supplied, "Between those two I haven't been alone in a while."

"Exactly!" Nessa exclaimed. "Keep going! Elaborate, woman!"

Elphaba rolled her eyes at her sister's enthusiasm. "...but I'm okay with not being alone. The first night I was left completely on my own I couldn't handle it."

"GOOD!" Nessa encouraged. "It's a start!"

"What are you? My therapist?"

"Ugh." Nessa blew her hair out of her face. Elphaba was almost as clueless as Shell. And _that_ was saying a whole lot. "Didn't you think I forced you into therapy for a reason?"

"I'm still waiting for that house your promised would fall on my head if I quit going," Elphaba retorted.

Chills went down Nessa's spine. "I'm sure that's much more painful than you're making it seem! Now, stop changing the subject!"

"Okay, fine. Continue, Dr. Thropp."

"Who did you meet first?"

"Fiyero."

"Who kissed you last?"

"Glinda."

"Who did you see last?"

"Fiyero."

"Who tells you they love you more?"

"Glinda."

"Who did you see most?"

"Fiyero."

"Who knows more about you?"

"Glinda."

Nessa sighed. "Holy mother of Kumbricia." She shook her head. "Elphaba, you _are_ hopeless."

"And that's why I turned to you!" Elphaba cried. The only other time she had turned to Nessa for help was when she failed her math exam in grade ten and needed someone to get Frex in a good mood before she broke the news.

"Goodness gracious!" Nessa exclaimed, seeing through Elphaba's diabolical plan. "I see! You want this to be my fault! Elphaba even if I make the decision, you're still the bad guy."

Elphaba threw up her hands. "I don't know what to do! TELL ME _SOMETHING_!"

"Fine," Nessa said softly. Thank goodness she had made a habit of watching multiple self-help shows. "Let them work it out for themselves."

"That won't work," Elphaba argued. She fell forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "They refuse to speak."

"Then make it work!" Nessa cried passionately. "ELPHABA THROPP YOU ARE THROPP! DO WHAT WE DO BEST!"

"Manipulate?"

"No."

"Die in style?"

"No!"

Elphaba snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Argue?"

Nessa opened her mouth to argue and then closed it. She shook her index finger. "That is a very valid point, but not what I meant."

"Okay, I've got it this time." Elphaba formed her words carefully. "Develop unhealthy obsessions."

"You know what?" Nessa looked like she was about to throw something at Elphaba. "I'm going to give you a hint." She took a deep breath. "Those obsessions...what do they have in common? Religion...Quadlings...the rebellion...horrible, horrible Munchkin men...building an empire."

"Society doesn't like them?" Elphaba guessed.

"When things don't go your way you've got to force them to! Elphaba, you've got to make a decision for yourself eventually, but for now you let them work it out!" Nessa was so passionate about this that colour was rising in her cheeks. "All three of you have problems and you're all being silly little kids playing hide and go seek! Come out with it! Do you love them both or not?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Elphaba sounded upset and bewildered and anxious all at the same time. "DO I LOVE THEM BOTH OR NOT?"

Nessa tapped her chin. "Gee...I could have sworn I've heard that question before..."

"They are both the most beautiful people I have ever met." Elphaba burst out in a tearless sob. "Teach me how to answer, Nessa."

"Now I'm the teacher too?" Nessa chuckled slightly, storing her previous speech in her head so she could write it down later for future reference. "Well, here's what I think. They both love you Elphaba. Very much. It's all relying on who you trust to take what you offer them."

Elphaba suddenly felt queasy and excused herself, but before she left the room Nessa called her back softly. "Elphaba, don't you remember what mama used to tell us when we told _her_ to play favourites?"

Despite all of the heartbreak that remained in the room from the conversation, Elphaba smiled. _"I'm content to watch you two fight to the death to decide for me, but until then you'll have to accept that I love you both equally."_

* * *

><p>"I haven't seen Elphaba in days," Glinda said to Jillian and Ariana. She was trying to give herself reasons for why she had impulsively decided to drop by Elphaba's apartment building.<p>

She pulled into the front parking lot, parked the car and walked into the building with her daughters behind her. They showed Glinda how to use the revolving door and pushed the buttons of the elevator for her, because she wouldn't touch them. It wasn't sanitary. At least in her apartment there was a guy for that.

Jillian skipped down along the corridor ahead of Glinda while Ariana stayed directly beside her mother, trying to match their steps.

Ariana was looking down and didn't notice when Jillian ran forward to Elphaba's door until Glinda said, "I always knew Jill was outgoing. But now she's hugging strangers? Ugh. That girl."

"Uh oh." Ariana froze and pulled on Glinda's skirt. "Mommy, we should go."

"Why?" Glinda kept walking forward.

Pulling even harder, the heels of Ariana's sneakers skidded against the floor. "We should really go! I...uh...have a tummy ache."

"Elphie will have a spell for that."

"MOMMY, WE HAVE TO GO!"

But it was too late. Glinda was already in front of Elphaba's door, beside the stranger who was holding her daughter. And that was no stranger.

"FIYERO?"

"GLINDA!"

Glinda looked as if she might cry at the mere sight of him and then started pounding on the door. "ELPHABA THROPP, OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

There was no answer.

"It's no use," Fiyero told her coldly, "I've been trying for ten minutes."

"What did you do to her?"

"WHAT DID I DO? How do you know _anything_ about us?" Fiyero exclaimed, unable to control himself.

"Please don't fight," Ariana tried.

"She was happy on Lurlinemas!" Glinda pointed out.

Fiyero's face fell and then he found his voice again. "She was with _you_ on Lurlinemas?" The puzzle was completing itself in his brain, but he was trying his best to prevent that from happening.

The same was occuring in Glinda's mind. Why couldn't she just stay all cozy and warm in her rut? She liked it there. "DIDN'T I JUST SAY THAT?"

"So that's why we had to move the date..." Fiyero thought out loud.

"Excuse me?" Glinda found her eyes tearing up and her cheeks flushing. It hadn't been like this at all since Elphaba. She tried to calm herself down. "What was that?"

"D-a-t-e," Fiyero said simply. "It's what you do when you care about someone."

"I wouldn't know seeing as you were always too busy with work to take me on one," Glinda snarled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be the villain. Maybe your constant, public goodness was just a little over the top," he retorted. "And maybe I was in shock from your ambush."

"What are you talking about?"

"_It's our party, Fiyero! We're engaged now!"_ Fiyero mimicked Glinda's high voice from years ago.

Glinda blushed slightly and covered her cheeks with her hands. "Why didn't you just say no?" she demanded.

"Stop!" Jillian buried her head into Fiyero's shoulder. "Just stop!"

"Because I loved you," Fiyero answered, "and I didn't want to hurt you."

"You're doing a pretty good job of it right now, Fiyero," Glinda said shakily. "But you should know that you're hurting yourself. She told me she loves me." Thinking about it brought forth a bit of hope in the midst of this stress.

"We've been on two dates," Fiyero replied casually.

"She kissed me."

"She wrote me a book."

"She introduced me to her family."

"She actually _likes_ my tattoos."

"She doesn't treat me like I'm stupid!"

"She likes me for who I am," they both finished at the same time. "Not like you ever did."

Fiyero reached out and pounded on the door again. He hated fighting with Glinda. She was supposed to be the happiest person he knew. Of course, he didn't know her anymore. Maybe he never had.

Jillian was crying into Fiyero's shoulder and Ariana was hiding behind her mother's legs. They had thought there wouldn't ever be arguing in their family again. And it was all because of Elphaba now.

"It's no use," an old lady called from down the hall. She was wearing an old housecoat and a horrendible fake hairpiece. And way too much makeup, Glinda noticed. "The girl went to see her sister. Came home a few days ago looking normal..._normal for her_, I should add- and ten minutes later took off with one bag. Haven't seen her since. She didn't ask me to water her plants this time though. Maybe she doesn't trust me..." a devilish grin broke out on the old woman's face.

"Thank you," Fiyero said. Glinda could tell he was holding everything back. He shifted Jillian to his other arm and stroked her hair as he walked down the hall, opposite Glinda's direction.

Glinda took Ariana's hand and dabbed at the corner of her eye. She hated Elphaba for doing this to her family. Maybe after all of this time the green blessing in disguise had been a curse.


	16. Sweet & Sour Cures

**I was going to post yesterday, but I had internet problems. Either my dad was trying to make a statement by turning off the wifi or fate doesn't want this story ending. I'm going to flatter myself and go for the latter. Anyway, this is the SECOND LAST CHAPTER AND I AM CLOSE TO TEARS! I love this story so much. It's my first baby. *sniffle* My baby's growing up.**

* * *

><p>Elphaba knew it was up to her to fix this mess. And she was going to start by exploiting Fiyero and Glinda's trust. She called Glinda's phone and as it had been doing for the last few days...it went directly to voicemail.<p>

_Aloha, it's Glinda! Does it sound like I'm here right now? Probably not- _a high-pitched giggle –_so leave a message!_

Waiting for the beep, Elphaba left her message. "Hey, Glinda. It's Elphaba. Fiyero called me and told me he can't pick up Jill at dance, so he needs you to do it. Then he said to leave her at my apartment so he can pick her up later." There was no return call, but Elphaba was certain the message had been heard, so she proceeded with her plan and called Fiyero's phone.

_You've reached Fiyero. Leave a message...unless it has to do with work or death. Thanks._

"Hey Fiyero. It's Elphaba. Glinda called me and told me she can't pick up Ariana at Belle's house, so she needs you to do it. Then she said to leave her at my apartment so she can pick her up later."

Satisfied with her despicable lying, Elphaba set down her phone and waited patiently.

The first thing she heard was the yelling. Glinda's series of shrieks grew higher and higher and she could hear Fiyero's words come out in jumbled slurs and grunts. Bracing herself, Elphaba jumped up and threw open the door. She stood there with a grin on her face and they both stood there looking like they were going to club her. It dawned on Elphaba that she received that look from a lot of people. "Beautiful day, isn't it? Really makes you feel like clawing each other's eyes out."

"What do you want from me, Elphaba?" Glinda demanded, stomping her foot as if it was going to make her point any clearer.

"Oh, I don't want something from you," Elphaba replied simply. "I want something from_ both_ of you."

Fiyero grabbed Jillian's wrist and turned to leave, but Elphaba caught his arm.

"I don't want to have two twosomes anymore." Elphaba planted her feet firmly on the ground. "I'm sick of being caught in the middle of this sick, twisted game of tug of war...because frankly, my shoulders are starting to hurt." She watched Fiyero's hand go limp and loosen his hold on Jillian, so she sprung forward and took the opportunity to carry out the next step of her plan.

With surprising strength, Elphaba pushed Fiyero into her apartment and then stepped behind Glinda and pushed her in too. Before either of them had the chance to react, she slammed the door and held the knob tightly as they fought to open it. It took a little bit of time to compose the spell with her lack of concentration, but Elphaba managed to seal the door closed with magic.

Turning on her heel, Elphaba observed Ariana and Jillian who were holding each other and cowering slightly. "Girls, I know what we're gonna do today."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe her!" Glinda pulled off her heels and threw them down savagely.<p>

"Really?" Fiyero glanced up from his spot on the arm of the couch. "Because I can."

"So then you knew about this?" she demanded angrily, jumping to conclusions. It was difficult even to look at him and the fact that they were in Elphaba's apartment was making everything worse. This must be what suffocating was like.

Fiyero took a deep breath, trying to hold it together. He knew from experience that Glinda could get very frustrating _very_ quickly. "I don't know what's going on and I don't know where this is going. Of that, I can assure you."

"What else is new?" Glinda muttered, staring at the ceiling. She decided to go try the door again, but to no avail. No matter how good she was with magic, Elphaba would always be better.

On her way back, Glinda stopped in every room she could, so she didn't have to face Fiyero. She picked up a few books and faked her interest.

"You read now?"

Glinda raised her eyebrows and looked at him incredulously. "Not even Elphaba Thropp could get me into reading."

"She got me into reading."

"You always were fairly impressionable," Glinda commented blandly. Fiyero threw her a look. "Oh, don't pretend! I do know you to some degree." Her eyes wandered over his ripped jeans and t-shirt combination. "But I don't know why you're wearing that."

"It was my day off." Fiyero looked over her fancy summer dress. That was casual for her. "I apologize I didn't wear my finest suit. I wasn't aware I would be locked in an apartment with Ozma herself."

"I might be one day," Glinda shot back. "I got a promotion."

"Congratulotions!" he said sarcastically.

Glinda paused for a moment. She remembered hearing that at her engagement party. Listening to it coming from those singing cards that people had gotten her after the birth of her daughters. Leaning back against the wall, Glinda tilted her head back and crossed her arms. "So what now?"

"You've asked me that before."

Closing her eyes, Glinda snorted. She had. "And you didn't answer me."

"I didn't have an answer, Ozma," he teased lightly.

Glinda snuck a look at him out of the corner of her eye. He was still handsome and had that cute sense of humour, but nothing was there. No matter how much she wanted it to be. Part of her wanted to forget Elphaba and run away with Fiyero. But that could never happen. "You haven't bowed to me yet."

"I only bow to one person." Fiyero saw Glinda raise a defined eyebrow in confusion. "The queen of the stars."

"I love Elphaba more than anything too," she replied softly.

Fiyero drummed his fingers against his knee uncomfortably. "Do you know what she wants us to do in here?"

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's something I don't want to do," Glinda admitted, taking a seat on the opposite arm of the couch. Rubbing her elbows, Glinda stared out the window. The sun was bright, and yet she was stuck in here. Clichés are so annoying, she thought. "Did it hurt you too?" she asked finally.

"How could it not?" He wanted to contribute more, but he would only bare his soul to Elphaba.

"Then why didn't you show it?" Glinda continued accusingly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Fiyero knew what he was going to say was horrible, but it needed to be said. He hadn't done it when he had the chance. "Maybe I was showing it and you never saw the signs. Maybe you were just a little too focused on yourself."

Glinda's face contorted in anguish, but she held back her tears. She was determined to get this conversation over with. It needed to be done. "Where did it go wrong?"

"I've been asking myself that for a long time," Fiyero replied honestly. For the first time, he looked directly at Glinda. Blue to blue. "Maybe it was wrong all along."

Twirling a loose curl around her finger, Glinda shifted back and forth uncomfortably, trying to make herself as physically comfortable as she couldn't be emotionally. "Does that mean that something with Elphaba could be wrong too?"

"It doesn't feel wrong to me," Fiyero said, maybe a little arrogantly.

Glinda shook her blonde head. "Me neither. Not at all. I think it should, but it doesn't. It never did."

Fiyero decided to be straightforward with Glinda. "I don't want to go around in circles again." He ran a hand through his hair and Glinda watched intently.

"I think I still love you."

Unable to help himself, Fiyero smiled. He had told her that after their first fight back in university. It felt like ages ago. "Do you really mean that?" He made his eyes light up as Glinda's had. "Because I always loved you."

Now Glinda was smiling. She sighed contentedly. "Those were the best years of my life."

"Mine too," he agreed. "Until I flunked history."

"I passed by two percent," Glinda giggled. "I think my parents still have the note Morrible sent them. Do you remember her?"

"How could I forget? I spent more time in her office than anywhere else."

Glinda leaned back and reminisced about her university days. Those were the memories that made her want to laugh and cry simultaneously. Her first kiss with Fiyero, being chased around by relentless Munchkins, making new friends, cramming for exams, relaxing in her private suite. "Why did we have to grow up?"

"I know someone who didn't fall into the lies they fed us." Fiyero stared at the ground. "She'll take you to Neverland and back in an hour."

"I want her to myself, Fiyero." Glinda tried her best to sound powerful.

Fiyero laughed. "Well that isn't going to happen, _my dear_."

"So then what do you propose?" she said angrily, clenching her fists.

"I don't know." Fiyero wet his lips. "I just don't know."

* * *

><p>"It's so quiet," Elphaba whispered. "Is there a law against talking that I don't know about?"<p>

"We hate you," Ariana said flatly, crossing her arms. Jillian looked at her sister and then nodded vigorously and did the same.

"You know, I've said that to my sister so many times." Elphaba shook her head, remembering vividly. "Never meant it once."

Jillian sniffled. "You made them fight again."

"I always preferred my parents fighting than not talking at all," Elphaba replied simply. "At least I knew they were communicating." She had told Nessa that a few times as well. Their parents could really go at it sometimes and Nessa had been as young as Jillian.

"I want to go home. This is kidnapture," Ariana continued. She stopped in her spot. "I'll scream."

"Then go ahead and scream," Elphaba said flatly. She kept walking and left Ariana further behind.

Jillian ran to keep up with Elphaba and glanced back at Ariana who was trailing behind. "Where are we going?"

"Well, when I got my paycheck yesterday I thought about things I haven't bought myself in a while." Elphaba pulled her wallet out of her pocket and checked that the money was there. "And there was one thing that stood out above all the others."

Ariana had caught up to them. "And that was?"

"Candy." Elphaba stopped and faced them. Her eyes were bright. "Lots of it." She started forward again. "And then I thought: I'm going to need something to watch while I'm eating all of this candy."

"A movie?" Jillian guessed.

"Not just one!" Elphaba cried. "I'm talking tons of candy here, Jill."

"More than one movie?" Ariana said to herself. "That'll cost a lot and we hate you. So then we're not going to feel very good."

"It won't cost a lot." Elphaba smirked. "I'm going to teach you a skill that will come in handy when you're on a date and daddy's trying to spy on you."

"And that is...?"

"It's called theatrehopping."

True to her word, Elphaba bought them bags and bags of teeth-rotting, sugar-filled goodness and paid for one movie ticket for each of them. Their first movie was Car Story 4.

They found the theatre and took the seats at the very back where they shrugged off their jackets and made themselves comfortable. Jillian broke open the plastic around her 3D glasses and put them on. They were way too big for her little face.

"You look like a bug, Jill," Ariana told her.

"Bzzzzz!"

Meanwhile, Elphaba was opening each bag of candy and sorting them into the three popcorn boxes she had "borrowed" from the concession stand. She was busy being such a good role model today. "Four for Jill...four for Ari...four for Elphie...one for me." She popped a gummy into her mouth.

"Hey, no fair!" Jillian cried.

Elphaba shoved one into Jillian's mouth to quiet her down...then took another for herself. She opened another bag. "Four for Jill...four for Ari...four for Elphie...one for-"

Ariana reached over and grabbed the candy from Elphaba's hand. "One for me," she finished smugly.

When Elphaba had finished sorting the candy, she handed one mix to Ariana and the other to Jillian, then looked into her own. "I'm glad I'm not the one paying your dental bills." And with that, she dug in.

"Elphie, put on your glasses," Jillian whispered. She didn't sound so angry anymore. Apparently, the quickest way to her heart was through her stomach.

Elphaba put on her glasses and the girls burst into laughter. "I look really cute, don't I?" She nudged the glasses onto the bridge of her nose and looked down at them. "Cooler than daddy's shades, right?" The girls were doubled over by now. "But not cooler than mommy's. These don't cover most of my face like hers do." Examining her reflection in her phone, Elphaba commented, "I'm about ready to cruise around the city in my sports car...or go tanning. Which would you two prefer?"

Jillian held her hands in front of her and pretended to turn a steering wheel. "Oh! Did you see that witch? Almost scratched the bumper!"

Ariana leaned back in her chair and tilted her chin up. After a moment, she pretended to check a watch. "It's 11:39! I better flip now. Mustn't be burnt to a Glinda crisp again."

"You two should consider careers as actresses," Elphaba said with a chuckle. "Glinda crisp or not, you've got your parents downpact."

By now Ariana had forgotten most of her anger with Elphaba too. "Well, they're just parents. They don't do much."

"When I grow up I'm going to be a ballerina," Jillian said happily. Elphaba's statement had gotten her thinking.

"When I grow up I'm going to be a teacher-doctor-actress and the head of the Council of Magic," Ariana stated proudly.

"When I grow up I'm going to be the Woman on the Moon," Elphaba told them. They turned their heads bewilderedly but she shushed them and pointed at the screen. "It's starting!"

* * *

><p><strong>Looks like Elphie, Ariana and Jill got in touch with their inner Phineas &amp; Ferb. As did I whilst writing this. My dream is now to visit *Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated* Anyone read that to the tune of the song? Haha. Hope you enjoyed this and prepare for the end. Just know that I'm crying harder than Shell upon receiving the notice that he wouldn't be included in the musical.<strong>


	17. Why Not?

**A/N: Voilà! La fin de mon histoire! ****I'm glad I could get Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated stuck in your pretty little minds. Hopefully I just did it again. Although currently it's all about the Hilary Duff CDs I found in my basement. Now I quickly need to get something off of my chest. To all of you reviewers, let me just say that I think you all have amazing vocabularies. Honestly, I read every review and sit there for ten minutes thinking...omgosh I wish I spoke like that. So congratulotions! And now for a big thank you. This thank you is so big it stretches to Oz and back. I couldn't be happier with the success of this story! Seventeen chapters...that's seventeen days of my life that you lovelies improved times a million. MWAH!**

* * *

><p>"Do you know how long it's been?" Glinda asked.<p>

Fiyero was flipping channels with the television remote; he went to a channel that showed the time. "About four hours."

She sighed. "I hope the girls are okay."

"I'm sure they are."

"All three of them?"

"Elphaba's unbelievably good with them," Fiyero said simply.

Glinda glared at him. "You mean better than me."

"I didn't say that!" he argued. "How do you jump to conclusions so quickly? It's a talent, really."

"Just another thing you've secretly resented about me," Glinda muttered. She got up to look out the window for the trillionth time. "I'm sorry you wish Elphaba was the mother of your children."

"I'm sorry you're so dramatic," Fiyero retorted. He switched the television off and set the remote on the arm of the couch. "I wish you wouldn't bring them into this."

"But we should!" Glinda cried. "We've been sharing them like toys!" What she didn't mention was that she had actually bribed Jillian into playing dress up with new colouring books.

Suddenly Fiyero was reminded of what Avaric had taught him the first time he brought cookies in his lunch to work. "Sharing is caring."

"We haven't thought about how they feel, Fiyero!" Glinda continued; ignoring his statement. Her mind was feeling overwhelmed. "We're negligent parents!"

"I don't see what's wrong with sharing, as long as it's done right." Fiyero stroked his chin. "Whatever that means."

Glinda leaned against the window and faced him, feeling a little bit more comfortable knowing that they were both equally confused. "Maybe we should talk more. In front of them. Show them that we're still a family?"

"Alright," Fiyero replied slowly, "because we both love them and we need them."

"Because love is about sacrifice."

They both thought about the sacrifices Elphaba had made for them. She had never asked for anything. But Glinda and Fiyero's thoughts were interrupted by an excited voice chattering just outside the door of the apartment. They heard Elphaba mutter a few words that sounded something along the lines of, "Wanna make a bet on how peeved they're going to be at me?" And then the door opened.

Glinda followed Fiyero out into the hall and stared at Elphaba. She didn't know how to feel.

Elphaba looked them over amusedly. "Oh good, you're still alive! I was just telling the girls how I forgot to leave food and water out."

Fiyero and Glinda both took a step closer and continued to stare.

Throwing her hands out in front of her protectively, Elphaba warned, "If this tug of war thing is about to get physical, then I swear to Oz I will grab that broom-" she pointed at a broom in the corner next to the wall, "-and fly away. It's there for emergencies."

Glinda took Jillian's hand and Fiyero took Ariana's and they both left without a word. Elphaba watched them go, slightly disappointed in the outcome of her plan.

Over the course of the next few days both Fiyero and Glinda retreated back into their fortresses of solitude. Again, Elphaba decided those clueless dimwits needed the message thrown at them; beaten into their tiresome brains. Their idiocy was affecting her own happiness as well and she wasn't going to stand for that.

Now that she had Ariana and Jillian on her side again, manipulation was so much easier. She didn't feel bad either. Glinda and Fiyero secretly loved it...of that she was positive. She had called ahead and let Ariana and Jillian in on her plan so they could help her.

Glinda and Fiyero didn't realize that both Ariana and Jillian conveniently decided they wanted to go to their friends' houses on the same day and that Elphaba conveniently wanted to meet them both by the fountain outside the Palace of the Wizard.

Elphaba sat on the ledge of the fountain and tilted her head back so she was looking at the statue of the Wizard upside down. The reflection of the sunlight off of the gold was almost blinding, but she could still see the outline of the statue. And the longer she stared at it the creepier it was getting. To think that her mother had fooled around with that...? Bleh. She hummed to herself to drown out the sound of her thinking. Some thoughts were just off limits.

"At least this time she can't lock us up." She heard Fiyero say and returned her head to the normal position.

"What's the plan for today?" Glinda asked sourly.

Elphaba shrugged. "My plan for today is to not have a plan." Neither of them said anything, so she didn't. She stood up on the ledge of the fountain and walked across it, holding her arms out to keep balance. When she completed the length of the circle she jumped down. "You're allowed to talk to me around each other. You don't own me." She was speaking to both of them.

Still they remained silent. Glinda was looking around and Fiyero was rocking back and forth on his heels.

Suddenly, Elphaba felt frustration take control of her mind and her words. "You know what your problem is?" She took a step back to address both of them again. "You're afraid! You're cowards!"

"Elphaba!" Glinda snapped. "There's no need to be rude when you-"

"When I what?" Elphaba demanded. "If you can be yourselves around me then you can be yourselves around each other! Out of all of the people in the universe there's only one other person who's going to understand exactly what you're going through!" She paused for a moment. "This is the part where your eyes meet and you hug." As demonstration she wrapped her arms around herself.

"We're not going to hug," Fiyero told her, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Elphaba groaned. "WHY NOT?"

"Because it's awkward!" Glinda answered.

"Awkward?" Elphaba muttered. That word had made the biggest comeback in the past year. She heard it so much she was tempted to shove a thesaurus at Glinda and force the blonde to look up a better word. But instead, she stepped onto the ledge of the fountain again. "Glinda, jump into this fountain!"

"Are you insane?" Glinda said; keeping her voice low so people wouldn't stare.

Elphaba ignored her and glared at Fiyero who was snickering under his breath. "Fiyero, go give that old lady all of the money in your wallet!" She pointed at a haggardly old lady hobbling by them.

"Why don't you?"

"Have you seen my wallet lately?" Elphaba laughed. "It's the mugger's nightmare."

"You know what?" Fiyero decided. "I'm going to go now." He turned to leave and so did Glinda, even if it was a much more reluctant departure on her part.

"You're never going to fly if you don't believe you can!" Elphaba called.

Glinda stopped in her tracks and turned around, willing to hear what Elphaba had to say. Based on how well she knew Elphaba, she knew there was more coming. And then she factored in all of the time Elphaba wasted listening to her rants. She caught Fiyero's hand and met his eyes. He turned back to face Elphaba too.

"Do you know why I act the way I act?" Elphaba said forcefully. She held one leg out in front of her and gracefully leapt off of the fountain. "My mother was dreadfully unhappy with her life and she did everything she could to fight that. She was an alcoholic, shit-disturbing bitch with one hell of a sex addiction and then she left me to care for my disabled sister. But you know what? She taught me more in six years than your mothers have taught you in your whole lives."

"No need to bring our mothers into this..." Fiyero defended.

"She showed me how to deal with _everything_," she continued. "And I took it to heart. When people don't talk to you, talk to yourself. When the world is vicious and boring, invent your own. When you're depressed and hate everything about yourself you can't just lay down and die! You have the right to eat a burger without feeling fat and the right to root for the Vinkun soccer team without having your apes of friends attacking you for it! They're just jealous that those EC tra-la-las couldn't play for beans!"

She took a deep breath, preparing to continue. It definitely hadn't been intended to come out like that. "And no one's ever going to give a shit about what you say, but you still have every damn right to speak! It doesn't even have to be spoken. Get a tattoo. Write a book. Somewhere someone's going to listen and if they don't then guess what? I will. You don't have to be pretty or good or smart or artsy." Glinda and Fiyero both opened their mouths to protest, but Elphaba cut them off. "Would it kill you to go one day without makeup?" She faced Glinda. "Just walk around in sweatpants and tie your hair up!" Fiyero started chuckling and she rounded on him. "And you! Walk around without a shirt for all I care! Show everyone that you're a proud Vinkun! People are either going to laugh in your face or behind your back. Which do you think they're doing right now? But you know what they're going to say? Those two have spunk. And you know what I'm going to say? Those two have _colour_."

She whirled around in the direction of her apartment and walked off; boots creating a thud every time they hit the pavement.

* * *

><p>Glinda stayed silent for a week. She went to work in a trance, picked up the girls in a trance and went to bed still in that trance. Elphaba's words were unforgettable. They were harsh, but loving. It was clear that Elphaba thought more of her than anyone else ever had. But she couldn't get up the nerve to face her.<p>

Across the city, Fiyero was going through a similar state of bewilderment. He tossed and turned and wished he was with Elphaba, but couldn't summon the courage needed to get into the car. Picking up the phone, however, did not seem as scary. But it wasn't Elphaba he wanted to talk to.

Glinda reached for her phone and was about to dial when it rang. "Hello?"

"Glinda, do you remember how you said love is a sacrifice?"

* * *

><p>The next morning, Elphaba heard someone at the door bright and early. She yawned and grabbed a sweater before answering it. However, when she opened the door her eyes widened and she dropped the sweater.<p>

"Too early?" Glinda asked.

"Can we come in? We feel kind of exposed," Fiyero admitted.

Elphaba pointed at Glinda. "You sound like my Glinda, but you don't look like her." Then she pointed at Fiyero. "And you look more like my Fiyero than ever. You can't be him."

Glinda pulled up her pink sweatpants and rolled the waistline so they would stay up. "I haven't worn these since I was pregnant. They're a little bit big, but I hope they're good enough." She pulled down her white t-shirt and patted her Elphaba style hair bun. "And my eyelashes are naked." Batting her eyelashes, Glinda rubbed her hands over her cheeks. She definitely looked paler and a few loose curls were falling down over her forehead.

"That's better than _being_ naked," Fiyero said, crossing his arms over his bare chest. He was only wearing jeans and sneakers.

Elphaba shook her head incredulously and bit her lip to try to hide the grin that was forming. "You two..." She grabbed their wrists and pulled them in. "I didn't mean it literally."

"We're pretty literal people," Fiyero told her. "Obviously there are a few things you have yet to learn."

"And I-" Glinda exchanged a look with Fiyero, "-_we_ came to a decision."

"We love you, Elphaba," Fiyero said sincerely, "and we're sorry we did this to you, so we're getting our shit together and making this right."

"Sharing is caring," Glinda informed her with a wink. "And I'm tired of hurting Fiyero."

"And I'm sick of pushing Glinda away."

"So from now on we're all friends here," Glinda instructed, "and then we see how it goes from there. The last thing we need is another disaster relationship." Her features softened. "You're the best thing that ever happened to us, Elphie." She wasn't going to wait to say things like that anymore.

Elphaba stood there helplessly for a moment, feeling simultaneously proud of them and confused as to how this came about. Before she knew it, she was reaching up to wipe a tear from her cheek. "The only thing I hate more than false sentimentality is _real_ sentimentality. You two _suck_."

Fiyero and Glinda burst out laughing and then they looked at each other and laughed harder. The complete ridiculousness of this whole situation was getting to them.

"This is cheesy, isn't it?" Fiyero asked them.

"Cheese makes the world go round," Glinda reminded him with a smile. It was so much more vibrant without two hours worth of makeup concealing it.

Elphaba narrowed her eyes. "Shouldn't you two be at work?"

"We made a sacrifice and took the day off." Fiyero grinned. "I'm thoughtful that way."

"Looks like I'm making coffee for three this morning." Elphaba headed off towards the kitchen where she piled up all of the papers and books on the table and left them on the counter in disarray.

"I'm so comfortable," Glinda sighed, sinking into a chair. "Remind me to do this more often."

Elphaba smirked. "I'll definitely be reminding Fiyero to do the shirtless thing more often."

"I'm pretty sure that we've already established my discomfort," Fiyero said flatly. He took a seat beside Glinda. Now that they were friends it wasn't such a chore for him.

Watching them for a moment, Elphaba couldn't help but smile. She looked down at her green hand. Then at Glinda in her bright pink. Then at Fiyero in his blue diamonds. "I think this is my best feat yet."

"What is?"

Elphaba lunged forward and grabbed Glinda's face with one hand. She kissed her cheek. Then she did the same with Fiyero. "Turning this love triangle into a threesome."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ha ha ha ho ho ho and a couple of tra la las! That's how we laugh the day away...when Elphaba ridicules the EC soccer team. ****I couldn't help myself for this chapter. I had to read at least one story where no one ended up alone. I hope you enjoyed it! ****Merci beaucoup! À bientôt!**** (By the way...hasn't my French improved? I've been watching mass amounts of Les Simpsons. I hope you're proud of me.) **


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